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Merrill, Samuel. Newspaper Libel: A Handbook for the Press. Boston, Ticknor, 1888. 304p. M304
An early handbook on libel, compiled for newspaper offices by a member of the staff of the Boston Globe. Includes a brief introduction to the history of libel, civil and criminal action, libels as contempt of court, language that is libelous, privileged communications, and political libels.
Merritt, LeRoy C. "Censorship Afoot." California Librarian, 19:177-78, July 1958. M305
A review of the recent work of the Intellectual Freedom Committee, California Library Association.
-------. "Intellectual Freedom." In Bowker Annual of Library and Book Trade Information, 1964. New York, Bowker, 1964, pp. 125-28. M306
A resume of intellectual freedom and censorship activity during the fifteen months ending 30 September 1963, drawn from the American Library Associaton's Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom.
-------. "Intellectual Freedom." In Bowker Annual of Library and Book Trade Information, 1965. New York, Bowker, 1965, pp. 170-74. M307
A summary of events of the past year relating to censorship and freedom of the press, including important court decisions (Tropic of Cancer and Fanny Hill), and the activities of such pressure groups as the National Organization for Decent Literature and Citizens for Decent Literature.
-------. "Intellectual Freedom." In The Bowker Annual of Library and Book Trade Information, 1966. New York, Bowker, 1966, pp.185-87. M308
A summary of the events of the past year, including legislation, court decisions, and censorship incidents involving books, films, and libraries. There are references to the Supreme Court action against the Post Office practice of intercepting mail it deemed to be foreign Communist propaganda and the Court's ruling the film censorship statutes of Maryland and New York unconstitutional. A similar report by Merritt appears in the 1967 annual volume.
-------. "Keeping Up With Censorship." California Librarian, 20:57-59, January 1959. M309
-------. "Notes of Merritt." Library Journal, 86:4158-60, 1 December 1961. M310
In his regular column Merritt reprints the policy statement of the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the California Library Association and the Book Selection Policies Committee of the School Library Association of California.
-------. "The Right to Read." California Teachers Association Journal, 61:18-20, 44-48, January 1965. M311
Discussion of censorship and the forms it assumes and the opposition to it in the defense of the right to read. Text of the Library Bill of Rights and the Statement of Purpose recently adopted by the New Jersey Committee for the Right to Read are included.
Merryweather, F. Somner. Bibliomania in the Middle Ages. New York, Meyer, 1900. 322p. M312
The introductory chapter refers to destruction of books and manuscripts of the monasteries during the Middle Ages, during the British Civil War and the French Revolution. There are scattered references to book destruction throughout the volume.
Merson, Martin. The Private Diary of a Public Servant. New York, Macmillan, 1955. 171p. M313
A personal account of the book burning practiced by government overseas libraries in 1953, stimulated by the antisubversive crusade of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy.
Metzger, Charles R. "Pressure Groups and the Motion Picture Industry." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 254:110-15, November 1947. M314
No other business is watched so closely and subjected to so many negative suggestions from religious, professional, trade, and racial groups. In addition to these external pressures, the industry itself exerts pressures on producers in an effort not to offend potential customers.
Meurant, Louis H. Sixty Years Ago. 2d ed. Cape Town, Africane Connoisseurs, 1963. 116p. M315
"Reminiscence of the struggle for freedom of the press in South Africa, and the establishment of the first newspaper in the Eastern Province." Originally published in Cape Town by S. Solomon, 1885.
Meyer, A. G. Modesty and the Printed Word. Milwaukee, Wisconsin Committee, National Organization for Decent Literature, [196-?]. 6p. M316
The Archbishop of Milwaukee reports on indecency in print and its relation to the law of the Catholic Church and the responsibility of Christian leaders.
Meyer, Bernard S. "Free Press v. Fair Trial: The Judge's View." North Dakota Law Review, 41:14-23, November 1964. M317
A justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York proposes to ameliorate the difficulty with a statute restricting the time of publication of information relevant to a pending case. This article is preceded by Frank Stanton's, which gives the broadcaster's view.
Meyer, Bernard S., et al. "Symposium: Fair Trial - Free Press." Criminal Law Bulletin, 2(3):3-37, April 1966. M318
Other participants: Herbert Brucker, editor, Hartford Courant; Frank G. Raichle, American College of Trial Lawyers, and Harris B. Steinberg, moderator.
Meyer, Sylvan. "We Call It Privilege, They Call It Smear." Nieman Reports, 19(4):9-14, December 1965. M319
A plea for more thorough newspaper coverage of libel cases. "In straightforward coverage of libel cases and their results, the reader sees the broad rules applied to the specific instance. Over the long haul this is bound to be constructive. For the public's sake we should print more stories of libel trials and educate the people to their stake in the press and to what libel entails."
Meyerfeld, Max. "Censor and Other Tales." Nineteenth Century, 69:460-70, March 1911. M320
A German drama critic believes that the British merit their stage censor because of the public indifference to good drama. Even if the censor were abolished there would be no guarantee of good plays or public appreciation of them. He calls for education of the public, and the creation of a national theater "released from any moral muzzle."
Michael, George. Handout. New York, Putnam, 1935. 242p. M321
The author charges that the federal government seeks to control the nation's press through a well- organized plan of employing newspapermen as press agents and by exercising favoritism in the release of news. An expose of the New Deal propaganda organization.
Michael, Kenneth E. "Freedom of the Press under Our Constitution." West Virginia Law Quarterly, 33:29-63, December 1926. M322
A brief historical survey of the development of freedom of the press and a determination of the statutes of freedom of the press under federal and West Virginia constitutions.
Middleton, Janet. "Literary Censorship in Australia - with a Commentary on the L.A.A.'s Action." Student Librarian, 5:25-28, 1965. M323
Middleton, John. Citizens for Decent Literature. Columbia, Mo., Freedom of Information Center, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 1960. 5p. (Publication no. 37) M324
An account of a new national organization engaged in "the fight against newsstand filth" using duly constituted legal measures instead of lists of banned books, boycotts, and demands for more legislation.
[Midgely, Robin]. "Victor - Or The Chamberlain Takes Over." Plays and Players, 11(12):10, September 1964. M325
Frank Cox interviews the director of the controversial play, Victor, or the Children Take Over, which ran into censorship difficulties in London during rehearsal.
Mightier Than the Sword. 20 min., b/w movie. New York, Prepared by a Committee of the National Council for Social Studies to Cooperate with Teaching Film Custodians, 1964. (Accompanied by study guide) M326
One in a series of four films on the tradition of American journalism, adapted from the "Cavalcade of America" television series. This film is intended to present the basic concept of freedom of the press and to provide a background for study of the First Amendment. It is a dramatization of the libel case of John Peter Zenger. The other films in the series are: One Nation Indivisible (Horace Greeley as a moulder of public opinion); The Tiger's Tail (Thomas Nast, cartoonist, and Boss Tweed); and Six Hours to Deadline: A Free and Responsible Press (analysis of social and ethical problems of journalism).
Mikva, Abner J. "Chicago: Citadel of Censorship." Focus/Midwest, 2:10, 16-17, March-April 1963. M327
"Chicago, for all its alleged cosmopolitanism and for all its actual bawdiness, has been a citadel of censorship." Two cases involving the Police Department's Censor Board of Motion Pictures have gone before the U.S. Supreme Court. In the case involving Game of Love, the ban was reversed; in Don Juan, the court upheld precensorship of movies by a 5 to 4 decision. Stage plays banned have included Sartre's Respectful Prostitute, Tobacco Road, and The Children's Hour.
Milam, Aubrey, et al. "Pressure Groups and the Library: Symposium." Southeastern Librarian, 7:50-56, Summer 1957. M328
The participants include Aubrey Milam, trustee of the Atlanta Public Library; M. E. Sterne, trustee of the Birmingham Public Library; and J. Maynard Magruder, member of the Virginia State Library Board. Mr. Sterne refers to the proposed labeling bill in Alabama; Mr. Magruder considers the legal history of the freedom to read.
Milam, Carl H. "Library and Today's Problems." ALA Bulletin, 33:721-22, December 1939. M329
The author, executive secretary of the American Library Association, writes of the importance of a courageous stand on the part of libraries in the matter of censorship, recalling his experience with the "black out" of a free press during World War I.
Mildmay, Paulet St. John. "Don't Sit on the Safety Valve"; or Reconstruction and the Press Bureau, Being a Protest against the Institution of "Government- by- Concealment" in England under the Guise of "Democracy." London, Kibble, [1918?]. 16p. M330
A criticism of British censorship in World War I.
Miles, Dudley D. "The Constitutionality of Anti- Birth Control Legislation." Wyoming Law Journal, 7:138-42, Spring 1954. M331
Notes on cases, 1938-43.
Miles, [Nelson A.?]. "Criticism in War." English Review, 23:538-43, December 1916. M332
Military reporting and criticism, the author complains, is largely left to nonmilitary amateurs, not always well- informed, while those who know the facts are prevented by military censorship from informing the public.
Miles, Vincent M. "A Letter from the Solicitor of the Post Office Department." Saturday Review of Literature, 27:17-18, 3 June 1944. M333
The letter reveals the procedures employed by the Post Office Department in censoring the mail.
Miles, William E. Damn It . . . A Book of Bluenoses and Self-Made Censors . . . Evanston, Ill., Regency Books, 1963. 156p. M334
A popular account of efforts at censorship in the United States and Great Britain. Includes chapters on the use of profanity, nude illustrations, the comics, objectionable songs, the movies, radio and television, Anthony Comstock and the vice societies, censorship of literary works, textbook censorship, censorship by religious groups, wartime censorship, libel, and pornography.
Mill, Herbert V. Rev. W. Sharman and the Blasphemy Laws. Colne, Eng., R. Hyde, [1883]. 8p. M335
Account of the resignation of the Rev. Mr. Sharman, Unitarian Minister at Plymouth, in consequence of his support of Messrs. Foote, Ramsay, and Kemp, charged with blasphemy.
Mill, James. Essays on Government, Jurisprudence, Liberty of the Press, and Law of Nations. Written for the Supplement to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, [5th ed., 1821] and Printed by Permission of the Proprietors of the Encyclopaedia. . . Not for Sale. London, Printed for J. Innes, [1825?]. Each essay separately paged; Liberty of the Press, 34p. (The Liberty of the Press essay has appeared in various reprints including Philip Wheelwright's Jeremy Bentham . . ., James Mill . . ., pp. 253-80; and Theodore Schroeder's Methods of Constitutional Construction. Extracts from the essay were issued in a separate pamphlet by the Free Speech League in 1913 (36p.), with an introduction by Theodore Schroeder) M336
Mill was one of the leading "scientific radicals" of his day; he was a friend and disciple of Jeremy Bentham and father of John Stuart Mill. He frequently wrote for the radical papers on the subject of a free press, criticizing government prosecution of publishers. In this article Mill argues that the press has a responsibility to make the people dissatisfied with poor government to such an extent that the ruling group cannot ignore the popular will. He advocates the freedom to resist government and the freedom to censor the conduct of its officials. Undeserved praise, he argues, is as mischievous as undeserved blame. Limitations on freedom lead to its destruction. "No opinion ought to be impeded more than another, by any thing but the adduction of evidence on the opposite side."
-------. The Speech Delivered at the British Forum . . . on the . . . Following Question: "Ought the conduct of Mr. Carlile, the Bookseller, in continuing to Publish Paine's Age of Reason . . . to be censured as a serious aggravation of his offense, and an obstinate defiance of the established religion of his country; or approved, as a striking instance of the rectitude of his intentions, and of his bold and manly perseverance in the cause of reason and truth? London, R. Carlile, 1819. 14p. M337
The conclusion was that "Mr. Carlile was justified in continuing the sale of his books until a jury should forbid him to do so."
[Mill, John Stuart]. [J. S. Mill on BIasphemy]. Report of an Article Contributed to the "Westminster Review" for July, 1824, occasioned by the Prosecution of Richard Carlile. London, Progressive Publishing Co., 1883. 30p. M338
Unsigned article attributed to Mill by his father's biographer, Alexander Bain. The article reviewed Rev. W. B. Whitehead's Prosecutions of Infidel Blasphemers briefly Vindicated and On the Recent Prosecutions of Persons Vending Books against Christianity, the latter dealing with the prosecution of Richard Carlile.
-------. On Liberty. London, J. W. Parker, 1859. 207p. (Available in various modern editions including Gateway Edition, Chicago, Regnery, 1955. 171p. With Introduction by Russell Kirk) M339
In this classic of libertarian thought Mill states his belief in the dignity of the human intellect. He considers freedom of discussion indispensable to the working of a democracy through representative government. In the chapter on liberty of thought and discussion Mill argues that to silence contrary opinion assumes infallibility of both the person and the age in which he lives. Opinions that are mostly false may contain a portion of truth and opinions mostly true may be partially false. The whole truth becomes known only through a collision of opinion. Even the whole truth is best kept alive by frequent restatement. Milton had spoken of truth as always triumphing over falsehood. Mill says that unfortunately this is not true. Commenting on the present status of a free press in England, Mill notes that we still persecute those whose ideas are offensive, though not so violently, and cites the cases of Holyoake and Truelove, and in a footnote refers to the "ill- judged" interference with public discussion under the Government Press Prosecutions of 1858, dealing with the doctrine of tyrannicide.
-------. Prefaces to Liberty: Selected Writings of John Stuart Mill. Edited by Bernard Wishy. Boston, Beacon, 1959. 367p. M340
Includes three letters on free discussion published in 1823 in the Morning Chronicle as part of the Benthamites campaign on behalf of the persecuted Richard Carlile. The letters are signed "Wickliff" and "assume that freer formation of public opinion will serve truth and that public opinion will be predominantly benign in its effect." Another letter protests the barring of reporters from court. Also included are Mill's reviews of books by Francis Place and Richard Mence on the law of libel, appearing in Westminster Review, April 1825, in which Mill asserts that popular rule and free discussion serve truth. Free discussion "is equal in value to good government, because without it good government cannot exist." There is an article from the Spectator of 19 August 1848 condemning French restrictions on the press. Finally, the collection includes Mill's famous essay, On Liberty.
Millard, Oscar E. Underground News; the Complete Story of the Secret Newspaper that Made War History. New York, McBride, 1938. 287p. M341
The story of Libre Belgique, the clandestine newspaper published during German occupation of Belgium in World War I.
Millay, Richard P. "The Power of the Executive to Withhold Information from Congressional Investigating Committees." Georgetown Law Journal, 43:643-60, June 1955. M342
A history of the development of the legal concept, 1787-1954.
Miller, Donald F. "Is Censorship Necessary in Your Life?" Liguorian, 49:1-7, May1961. M343
Comments of a Redemptorist priest.
-------. Should Your Reading be Censored? Liguori, Mo., Redemptorist Fathers, 1954. 24p. (Reprinted from the Liguorian 42:65-70, Feburary 1954) M344
Miller, Edward G., Jr. "Freedom and Responsibility." U.S. Department of State Bulletin, 23:617-19, 626, 16 October 1950. M345
An address before the Sixth Inter- American Press Conference in New York, reviewing the American concept of freedom of the press. "We citizens of the United States believe that the press has one fundamental and overriding moral duty . . . to seek the truth, and to report all available facts as objectively as possible."
Miller, Edwin H. "Censorship." In his The Professional Writer in Elizabethan England. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1959, pp. 171-202. M346
Miller, Henry. "Defense of the Freedom to Read," A Letter to the Supreme Court of Norway in Connection with the Ban on "Sexus" (" The Rosy Crucifixion"). Oslo, J. W. Cappelens, 1959. 27p. (Also in Two Cities, 15 July 1959; Evergreen Review, Summer 1959; McCormick, Versions of Censorship, pp.223-30; and in Lawrence Durrell, The Best of Miller, New York, 1959) M347
The author of Sexus, on request of the Oslo Town Court, defends his book. In 1957 Sexus was confiscated by the Attorney General of Norway as "obscene writing" and in 1958 two booksellers were found guilty of selling the book. The case was appealed to the Norwegian Supreme Court which found the defendents not guilty, but upheld the ban on the book.
-------. "I Defy You." Playboy, 9(1): 102,January 1962. M348
The author of Tropic of Cancer defies the censor, specifically the Massachusetts Obscene Literature Control Commission, which had acted against Miller's work. He cites four arguments against the censorship: (1) There is no valid definition of obscenity. (2) "No man, no group, no court of law has the right to tell us what we may or may not read." (3) There is no proof that reading a so- called obscene book ever demoralized a reader. (4) By attempting to protect youth we restrict the freedom of the adult. We are "burning down the house to roast the pig."
-------. Obscenity and the Law of Reflection. Yonkers, N.Y., Hunt Turner, 1945. 24p. (750 copies) (Reprinted in Miller's Remember to Remember. New York, New Directions, 1947, and in the Summer 1963 issue of Kentucky Law Journal, pp. 577-90) M349
The only effect which censorship has had upon his book, Tropic of Cancer, writes Miller, is to drive it underground and give it the best kind of publicity - word of mouth recommendation. "The book is a living proof that censorship defeats itseilf It also proves once again that the only ones who may be said to be protected are the censors themselves, and this only because of a law of nature known to all who overindulge."
-------. "Obscenity in Literature." In New Directions in Prose and Poetry: 16. New York, New Directions, 1957, pp.232-46. M350
This often- banned author argues for freedom of expression of man's universal human passions. "It is my honest conviction that fear and dread which the obscene inspires, particularly in modern times, sprang from the language employed rather than the thought." People are shocked to see in print sex words that they have known since childhood. He quotes Montaigne as writing: "It is amusing that the words which are least known, least written, and most hushed up, should be the best known and most generally understood." "Deceit and hypocrisy," writes Miller, "have a way of provoking honest men to explosive language, to shocking language." But, "ideas are in the air. . . and the artist does but make use of them." The real evil by which we are being destroyed is not obscenity but the making and planning of war. As a preliminary to his essay Miller discusses the censorship of his own books both in France and the United States.
[Miller, John]. The Evidence, (As Taken down in Court) in the Trial wherein the Rt. Hon. John, Earl of Sandwich, was Plaintiff, and J. Miller, Defendant, before William, Lord Mansfield, and a Special Jury, In the Court of King's Bench, July 8, 1773. London, Printed for George Kearsley, 1774. 48p. M351
Miller was found guilty of libel for publishing a letter in the London Evening Post accusing the earl of the sale of a Navy job. The defendant was assessed £ 2,000 damages.
[-------]. "Trial in London for Re- printing Junius's Letter to the King, 1770." Howell, State Trials, vol. 20, pp. 869ff. M352
Miller had published Junius letter no. 35 in his London Evening Post and also in his monthly London Museum. The letter, originally appearing in Woodfall's Public Advertiser, had attacked the king for alleged evils in his administration and had warned him that a crown "acquired by one revolution . . . may be lost by another." Miller was brought to trial as were several other printers and booksellers. He was ably defended by Mr. Serjeant John Glynn, who had been attorney for Wilkes, and found not guilty.
Miller, John C. Crisis in Freedom: the Alien and Sedition Acts. Boston, Little, Brown, 1951. 253p. M353
An account of two years of American history (1798-1800) when freedom of speech and the press was seriously abridged by the Alien and Sedition Acts. In a period of hysteria brought on by the French Revolution, the Federalists enacted these laws to protect their administration from criticism by the Jeffersonian Republicans. The work includes accounts of sedition trials against Benjamin Bache, Thomas Cooper, James T Callender, Matthew Lyon, and others.
Miller, Justin. "The Broadcasters' Stand: A Question of Fair Trial and Free Information." Journal of Broadcasting, 1:3-19, Winter 1956-57. M354
This discussion of Canon 35 of the American Bar Association, dealing with broadcasting and televising of court proceedings, is digested from the September 1956 American Bar Association Journal.
Miller, Merle. "Freedom to Read: Magazines." Survey Graphic, 35: 462-67, December 1946. M355
"Over all it can be said that a dozen to fifteen magazines today control the mass circulation field."
-------. The Judges and the Judged. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1952. 220p. Foreword by Robert E. Sherwood. M356
A report on blacklisting in radio and television prepared for the American Civil Liberties Union. The investigation was occasioned by pressures exerted on the radio and television industries and the relating advertising agencies by the book, Red Channels, and the weekly newsletter, Counterattack, which listed persons in the entertainment world who had alleged Communist affiliations.
-------. "Our Common Stake in Free Communication: Broadcasting." In Freedom of Communication; Proceedings of the First Conference on Intellectual Freedom . . . Chicago, American Library Association, 1954, pp. 116-23. M357
-------. "The Real Danger." Saturday Review of Literature, 31(50):20-21, 11 December 1948. M358
The author cites numerous cases of pressures on librarians to suppress books, particularly in Los Angeles County. The real danger is in the pressures exerted against librarians suspected of having liberal thoughts and in the complacency of writers to threats of censorship.
-------. "Trouble on Madison Avenue, N.Y." Nation, 174:631-36, 28 June 1952. M359
The president of the Authors Guild of America criticizes the radio- television industry for knuckling under to the "three wartime appointees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation" who published the 213- page Red Channels, the most powerful among a number of blacklists used by the industry.
Miller, Nellie B. "Fighting Filth on Main Street." Independent, 115:411-12+, 10 October 1925. M360
The chairman of the literature committee of the General Federation of Women's Clubs describes some of the attempts made by her organization to halt the flow of pornographic publications. The article is a follow- up of Frank R. Kent's article, Filth on Main Street.
Miller, Neville. "Legal Aspects of the Chain Broadcasting Regulations." Air Law Review, 12:293-98, July 1941. M361
-------. Let's Keep Radio Free. Washington, D.C., National Association of Broadcasters, 1942. 51p. M362
Testimony of the president of NAB before a House committee considering an amendment to the Federal Communications Act of 1934.
-------. "Radio's Code of Self- Regulation." Public Opinion Quarterly, 3:683-88, October 1939. M363
-------. "Reappraisal of the Federal Communications Commission's Policies Regarding Issuance of Broadcast Licenses." In Lectures in Communications Media, Legal and Policy Problems Delivered at University of Michigan Law School. June 16-June 18, 1954. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Law School, 1954, pp. 206-18. M364
The author is chairman of the Committee on Communications, American Bar Association.
-------. "Self- regulation in American Radio." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 213:93-96, January 1941. M365
Miller cites the operation of the code of broadcasters as an outstanding example of American industrial democracy. Through it, industry volunteers to do for itself what some would have done through legislative enactment." The code "is concerned with the development and the strengthening of wholesome and fair considerations which should govern the broadcast licensee as he determines the selection or rejection of speakers and subjects for broadcast."
-------, and Paul Hutchinson. "Can U.S. Radio Regulate Itself?" Rotarian, 57:18-19+, July 1940. M366
"Yes!" says Neville Miller, president, National Association of Broadcasters. "Not only can radio in the United States regulate itself - it must - in its own and the public's interest. What is more, it has already shown that it can keep its own vast house and yard in order, by adopting and adhering to the voluntary but exacting code of its own trade association, the National Association of Broadcasters." "No!" says Paul Hutchinson, managing editor, Christian Century. He believes there is no such thing as self- regulation in the broadcasting industry. In order to correct the weaknesses in our present system, he would like to see "the establishment of competition to commercial broadcasting in the form of at least two alternative systems, one supported by the Government and one endowed by public-spirited foundations."
Miller, Paul V. "Censorship in Japan." Commonweal, 46:35-38, 25 April 1947. M367
Criticism of the censorship policy of the American occupation authorities in Japan as too strict, placing the Japanese theater, dance halls, radio, and the mails under close surveillance. Needless antagonisms are being aroused by unwise policies.
Miller, Robert C. "News Censorship in Korea." Nieman Reports, 6(3): 3-6, July 1952. M368
"Our critics are right. We are not giving them the true facts about Korea, we haven't been for the past sixteen months and there will be little improvement in the war coverage unless radical changes are made in the military censorship policy.c
Miller, Susan. City Council Executive Sessions. Columbia, Mo., Freedom of Information Center, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 1964. 4p. (Publication no. 118) M369
Report on the use of "executive sessions" as a device to keep council proceedings from the public.
Miller, Vernon K. "Defamation in Newspaper Cases." Loyola Law Review, 4:25-49, June 1947. M370
Millett, Fred B. "The Vigilantes." Bulletin, American Association of University Professors, 40:47-60, Spring 1954. (Reprinted in Edwin Black and Harry P. Kerr, American Issues, New York, Harcourt, Brace & World, 1961, pp. 178-84) M371
Lists some contemporary examples of censorship in television, motion pictures, and literature, and gives evidence why he believes "(1) censorship in the field of literature and the other arts is usually stupid, and always unintelligent, (2) the censorship of literature is invariably self- defeating, (3) the censorship of literature is undemocratic."
Milner, Lucille B. "Freedom of Speech in Wartime." New Republic, 103:713-15, 25 November 1940. M372
Historical review of constitutional rights in World War I.
-------, and Groff Conklin. "Wartime Censorship in the United States." Harper's Magazine, 180:187-95, January 1940. (Reprinted in Summers, Wartime Censorship, pp. 76-85) M373
A review of censorship experience during World War I, with predictions "that censorship in a coming war will be more complete, more drastic, and even less concerned with the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and press than was that of the last war." The predictions proved to be wrong.
Milner, Michael. Sex on Celluloid. New York, Macfadden- Bartell, 1964. 224 p. M374
A veteran of the movie industry writes a detailed account of the treatment of sex in the movies - the pornographic film racket, the experimental and impressionistic films, the "nudies," and the feature films from Hollywood and abroad. He covers in detail the subject of sex as substance and content in the different movie forms, considering the story and the performer (nudity, premarital and extramarital sex, prostitution, perversion, incest, abortion, rape, and obscene language). Chapter 4 deals with regulating sex on the screen - self- regulation, unorganized public regulation, organized public regulation (including the Legion of Decency and the Film Estimate Board of National Organizations), and official regulation. A brief description is given of movie censorship abroad - England, Italy, Ireland, West Germany, France, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Africa, and Pakistan. The appendix includes the text of the Film Production Code and a table of standards of public regulation of movies in certain American cities.
Miloradovitich, G. A. "Boston Shocks Moscow." Bookman, 72:266-69, November 1930. M375
The author as a child in Moscow hada New England governess who objected to their reading Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan and substituted Little Women. His mother was shocked by one of the passages in the latter work and insisted that the governess return to reading Oscar Wilde.
Milton, George F. "Can Minds Be Closed by Statute?" World's Work, 50:323-28, July 1925. M376
An article on the background of Tennessee's evolution trial.
-------. "Freedom of the Press." In American Society of Newspaper Editors, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, 1937. Washington, D.C., ASNE, 1937, pp. 59-68. M377
The editor of the Chattanooga News discusses the antipress gag bill before the Tennessee General Assembly.
Milton, John. Areopagitica; A Speech of Mr. John Milton For the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, To the Parliament of England. . . London, 1644. 40p. Later editions include: James Thomson (1780), T. H. White (1819), John W. Hales (1866), Edward Arber (1868), R. C. Jebb (1872), Henry Morley (1886), James R. Lowell (Grolier Club, 1890), H. B. Cotterill (1904), Eragny Press (1904), Doves Press (1907), and William Haller (1927). A facsimile edition was published in London by Noel Douglas, 1927. Early editions are listed in T. H. White's edition (London, R. Hunter, 1819) which also reprints prefaces to earlier editions. Of those editions still in print Cottrell's (Macmillan, St. Martin's Press) has been recommended for the general reader. M378
The most perfect literary expression on freedom of the press and the most widely quoted work on the subject. Milton wrote Areopagitica as a classic unspoken oration in protest of Parliament's re- establishment of press censorship. It appeared without the name of the printer, in defiance of the Parliamentary order of 14 June 1643. Milton defends freedom of the press as essential to the life and progress of the nation. There should be no prior licensing and no punishment after publication save on legally proved charges of libel or blasphemy. He views censorship as an unholy product of the Inquisition and introduces almost all of the arguments against censorship employed, generally less eloquently, by later writers: Censorship is a barrier to learning. No man can be sure he has discovered the truth until he has examined all points of view and is free to make his own choice. A strong nation requires unity, not artifically imposed from above, but the result of a blend of individual differences. Without freedom of expression there can be no progress. No man is wise enough to serve as censor. Truth will defeat falsehood when the two are left free. No one is infallible. Censorship is an insult to the mind of the free Englishman. Milton's arguments stopped short of a complete libertarian view, for he would exempt two categories of thought: popish ideas and impious works that are offenses against faith or manners. Despite the popularity of the work today, Milton's pamphlet attracted little attention at the time of publication except in learned circles. It was less effective than the tracts of contemporary but less erudite writers such as Lilburne and Blount. Charles Blount quoted Areopagitica in his A Just Vindication . . . (1679) and Reasons Humbly Offered . . . (1693) and the work was paraphrased by Mirabeau in his tract, Sur la Liberte de la Presse, 1788. Areopagitica was reprinted for the first time in 1738 to protest the licensing of the stage.
-------. Areopagitica: A Speech to the Parliament of England for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing, by John Milton; with Prefatory Remarks, Copious Notes, and Excursive Illustrations, by T. Holt White, Esq To which is subjoined A Tract Sur la Liberte de la Presse, imite de l'Anglois de Milton par Le Comte de Mirabeau. London, Printed for R. Hunter. . . , 1819. 311p. M379
In addition to the 1644 text, there are prefatory remarks by White, a preface by James Thomson, observations on the invention of printing, a reprinting of the preface to the 1772 edition, a list of editions of Areopagitica, commendatory testimonials, a "glossarial index," and the Mirabeau adaptation of 1788.
Mims, Sam. "No One Has Burned Any Books." American Mercury, 78:17-22, April 1954. M380
Attack on teachers and others concerned with "book burning," and a defense of the Congressional committee and its raids of the shelves of U.S. Information Centers abroad.
Minattur, Joseph. Freedom of the Press in India. Constitutional Provisions and their Application. The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff, 1961. 136p. M381
"This study is intended to present to the reader the main provisions of law affecting freedom of the press in India. It is especially concerned with examining how far freedom of the press obtains in free India."
Miner, Worthington. "The Terrible Toll of Taboos." Television, 18:42-47, March 1961. M382
The effect of taboos and censorship on television. "When all searching into politics, religion, and sex are removed - when every 'damn' and 'hell' is gone - when every Italian is no longer a 'wop' and every Negro is no longer a 'nigger' when every gangster is renamed Adams or Bartlett, and every dentist is an incipient Schweitzer, when, indeed, every advertiser and account executive smiles - what is left? . . . Synthetic hogwash and violence!"
Minow, Newton N. Equal Time; The Private Broadcaster and the Public Interest. Edited by Lawrence Laurent. New York, Atheneum, 1964. 316p. M383
A collection of speeches and writings by the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission under the Kennedy administration. Beginning with Mr. Minow's celebrated "vast wasteland" speech in 1961 which triggered a national dialogue over the proper role of television in American society, the speeches include comments on the effects of editorializing; a proposal that would give the broadcaster not the advertiser the final word on program content; and an outlining of the various evils in the industry that have been damaging to the public interest. In an introductory essay Mr. Minow suggests methods of improvement in political broadcasting which will extend equal opportunity to the worthwhile but poor candidate.
-------, and Lawrence Laurent. "Is There No Way Out of This Madness." TV Guide, 13(5):4-9, 30 January 1965. M384
The authors call for new legislation that will give broadcasters the same kind of freedom now enjoyed by the newspaper press.
Mintz, Joseph D. "Liabilities of the Extra- Legal Censor." Buffalo Law Review, 5:328-33, Spring 1956. M385
An examination of the liability of censorship groups which attempt to suppress literature through means other than the courts or mere persuasion by the exercise of free speech. The author considers the areas of property or trade damage, injunction, and declaratory judgment.
"The Miracle Decision." Commonweal, 56:235-36, 13 June 1952. M386
"By refusing to allow the wise distinctions between civil and religious power to be obscured, by speaking boldly for freedom of ideas on the screen, and questioning local prior censorship of this medium, the Supreme Court has rendered an historic service to the cause of both civil and religious liberty."
"Miracle on 58th Street." Harper's Magazine, 202:106-8, April 1951. M387
A review of the controversy over the film, The Miracle, the most recent censorship being the withdrawal of approval for public showing by the New York State Education Department. Censorship of the film, the author believes, has reached the point of absurdity.
Mirams, Gordon. "Drop That Gun!" Quarterly of Film, Radio and Television, 6:1-19, Fall 1951. M388
Interim results of a comprehensive survey of motion picture content on which the author (chief government censor and registrar of films in New Zealand) worked. He compares violence in American films with that in foreign films.
[Mist, Nathaniel]. A Collection of Miscellany Letters Selected out of Mist's Weekly Journal. London, 1722. 2 vols. M389
The preface discusses Mist's frequent persecution for publication of objectionable pieces in his Weekly Journal. His first arrest was in 1717 for printing libels against the government. In 1721 he was summoned before the House of Commons for printing "a false, malicious, scandalous, infamous and traitorous libel." When he refused to answer questions put to him, including requests for names of his contributors, he was committed to Newgate prison. In 1728 no less than 22 persons were arrested for publication of the Journal of 24 August. They included authors, publishers, printers, and even some members of their householdsmaids and children. Daniel Defoe, a friend and contributor to the Weekly Journal, helped Mist assemble this collection of letters while the latter was in prison.
"Mr. Foote and the Blasphemy Laws." Spectator, 56:1121-22, 1 September 1883. M390
The writer takes the position that Christianity should not be protected by civil law but its professors should be protected from insulting parodies on their beliefs as a matter ofmaintaining the public peace. He refers to the blasphemy trials of George W. Foote.
"Mr. Hall Caine Banned." English Review, 15:310, September 1913. M391
A discussion of the censorship of The Woman Thou Gavest Me.
"Mr. Roosevelt's Libel Suit." Current Opinion, 55:5-6, July 1913. M392
Newspaper comment on Theodore Roosevelt's libel suit against George A. Newett, proprietor of Iron Ore.
"Mr. Roosevelt's Vindication." Literary Digest, 46:1321-22, 14 June 1913. M393
Newspaper comments on the winning of the slander case by Theodore Roosevelt against Mr. Newett, who had accused him of being drunk. Includes the retraction read by Mr. Newett.
"Mr. Wells and the Daily Mail." New Statesman, 18:250-51, 13 December 1917. M394
An account of the London Daily Mail's censorship of dispatches from its New York correspondent, H. G. Wells, because of his criticism of France.
Mitchell, John J., et al. Five Bases for "Executive Privilege." Columbia, Mo., Freedom of Information Center, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 1958. 6p. (Publication no. 10) M395
The five bases cited by the executive branch of government in withholding information from Congress and the public are: three statutes, an executive order, and a Presidential letter. They are reprinted here with comments by John J. Mitchell, Clark R. Mollenhoff, and Harold L. Cross.
Mitford, Jessica. "The Disease that Dr. Kildare Couldn't Cure." McCall's, 92(12):102-3+, September 1965. M396
An account of the National Broadcasting Company's ban of a two- part television show ("Dr. Kildare" and "Mr. Novak") dealing with venereal diseases. The question arose as to whether this was fit and appropriate as entertainment. The program had been recommended by the National Education Association, and the U.S. Surgeon General's Office, and was to have been filmed by MGM to help combat the alarming increase in the VD rate among high school students. Despite appeals from leaders in the field of education, religion, and public health, the network refused to permit the program.
Mitgang, Herbert. Freedom to See: The Khrushchev Broadcast and Its Meaning to Television. New York, Fund for the Republic, 1958. 17p. M397
On 2 June 1957, the Columbia Broadcasting System telecast an interview with Nikita Khrushchev. The network thought it was performing a public service, but a good many people, including President Eisenhower, did not appear to agree. At the request of the Fund for the Republic, Herbert Mitgang of the New Tork Times was commissioned to study and report on the incident. Mitgang concluded that the interview raised the fundamental question "Does American television in its role as a news gatherer and broadcaster, have the same freedom as the American newspaper?" He argues that television should have the same rights as the press under the First Amendment.
Mitra, S. M. "The Press in India, 1780-1908." Nineteenth Century, 64:186-206, August 1908. M398
"The relations between the Government and the Press have developed . . . since 1780 from a system of arbitrary, not to say despotic, treatment, through periods of Press censorship, restriction, liberty, temporary restraint renewed freedom, a Vernacular Press Act for four years, legislation (twice) by amendments of the ordinary law against sedition." In 1908 a new press Act was passed, armed not against sedition but against incitement to murder, revolt, and secret diabolical schemes. It remains to be seen whether the new act is sufficient to maintain peace and order.
Mitter, Vishnu. Law of Defamation and Malicious Prosecution, Civil and Criminal 4th ed. Allahabad, India, Law Book Co., 1965. 316p. M399
[Mobley, Carlton]. A Liberal Contempt Decision. Columbia, Mo., Freedom of Information Center, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 1961. 3p. (Publication no. 47) M400
Text of the decision of the Georgia Supreme Court in reversing a contempt charge against the Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta Newspapers, Inc. v. The State of Georgia). Publication of the arrest record of a defendant in a criminal trial was found legal inasmuch as the account appeared after the jury had been impaneled and the trial was underway.
Mock, James R. Censorship, 1917. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1941. 250p. M401
An historical study of censorship during World War I, showing the extent to which the First Amendment was set aside by government action, and the extent to which wartime repressive measures were carried over into an era of peace for the sake of stifling political, economic, and social reform. Edward L. Bernays reviews the book in the 7 March 1942 issue of Saturday Review of Literature.
-------, and Cedric Larson. "Activities of the Mexico Section of the Creel Committee, 1917-1918." Journalism Quarterly, 16:136-50, June 1939. M402
A study of one aspect of government censorship during World War I, the result of a year's research in the National Archives.
-------. Words that Won the War; the Story of the Committee on Public Information, 1917-1919. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1939. 372p. M403
A study of government censorship in the United States during World War I, as seen in the work of the so- called Creel Committee. The study was prepared at the eve of World War II, as an attempt to demonstrate that "the advance of censorship power can be silent and almost unnoticed as wave follows wave of patriotic hysteria." The work is based largely on the records of the Committee that are in the National Archives.
Mock, James R., et al. "The Limits of Censorship: a Symposium." Public Opinion Quarterly, 6:3-26, Spring 1942. M404
Mock discusses the limits of censorship in a democracy, using for a base his study of World War I censorship. He recommends wartime censorship only by the government and at the source. These views are commented on by George Creel, official censor in World War I, Neville Miller, president of the National Association of Broadcasters, Professor Zechariah Chafee, Jr. of Harvard University, Professor Ralph D. Casey of University of Minnesota, and Arthur Krock of the New York Times.
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