S

Back to previous set of S's


Sobiloff, Stephen J. "The Jury and the Press." Washburn Law Journal, 2:142-57, Winter 1962. S506

"The need has arisen as evidenced in these pages to gives the courts further control over the activities of the press. To deny the courts this weapon, is to make a mockery of justice and an empty ritual of the jury trial."


"Social Problems Books in the Small Library." Wilson Bulletin, 7:495-99, April 1933; 7:565-68, May 1933. S507

"The librarian cannot hope to keep the facts of life from a sophisticated younger generation bred on the sensational cinema and the scandalous newspapers . . . The day is past when a book is considered bad because of the author's lack of reticence in the treatment of universal experiences and problems."


Society for the Suppression of Vice (London). Reports. London, The Society, 1803-85. Annual. S508

During the reign of George IV and with his blessing a movement of evangelical revival developed to encourage piety and to suppress profaneness and immorality. A royal proclamation (1 June 1787) suggested the need "to suppress all loose and licentious prints, books, and publications, disbursing poison to the minds of the young and unwary; and to punish the publishers and vendors thereof." A Proclamation Society, under the leadership of William Wilberforce, took action, among other things, against the issuing of Sunday newspapers and financed the prosecution of Paine's Age of Reason. In 1802 there was established a Society for the Suppression of Vice and the Encouragement of Religion and Virtue throughout the United Kingdom, to consist of members of the Established Church. The Proclamation Society was subsequently merged with the Vice Society. The first annual report (1803) noted that the purpose of the Society was prevention rather than punishment, and a major activity was to check "the circulation of obscene books and prints, especially in seminaries of education, into which they have been most artfully introduced." The Earl of Dartmouth was president, Augustus Pitcher was secretary, and John Bowdler was a charter member. The work of the Society was well-received so long as it limited its activities to suppressing obscene works, but when it began a campaign against blasphemy in 1819, prosecuting Richard Carlile and his associates, it came in for severe public criticism. Between 1817 and 1825 the Society prosecuted 14 blasphemy cases as well as 20 obscenity cases. In 1857, after more than a half-century of activity, the Society reported 159 prosecutions, with convictions in all but 5 cases. The work of the Society was subsequently taken over by the National Vigilance Association for the Repression of Criminal Vice and Public Immorality (1885) and the Public Morality Council (1899). Other publications of the Society include: Proposal for Establishing a Society for the Suppression of Vice (1802); Address to the Public from the Society (1803); and Second Address to the Public from the Society (1803).


-------. Seventy-sixth Annual for 1879. (Abstract) London, The Society, 1879. 24p. S509

The report complains of the difficulty in suppressing obscene literature, since its distribution is largely via the mails. Catalogues of such literature are often circulated in schools. "Your Committee do not pretend to arrogate to themselves the position of censors of the press; butthey feel that literature and art have in all ages required strong moral supervision and restraint." Two societies have served this purpose in London: The Society for the Suppression of Vice suppresses bad literature; the Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge, established in 1830 but no longer existing in 1879, sought to offer good literature. The report lists titles of cheap periodicals suppressed (Paul Pry, Polly Pree, Women of London, etc.) and gives a statistical report of seizure since 1834 (380,569 prints, 63,487 books, etc.). The recent reduction in paper duty has served to encourage cheap pornography


Socolow, Abraham. The Law of Radio Broadcasting. New York, Baker, Voorhis, 1939. 2 vols. S510

A comprehensive study covering regulation of radio by federal and state laws and the operation of the FCC. Volume II includes chapters on privacy, defamation, copyright, and censorship.


Sokolsky, George. "Open Letter to the Post Office." Saturday Review of Literature, 38(17):9-10, 23 April 1955. S511

Opposition to the Post Office policy of "increasing ignorance by refusing to permit Russian publications to pass through the mails." "I cannot know what I am talking about [in opposing communism], unless I have freedom to read what the other side publishes . . . . The best method is the American method, which is to use no means [in fighting communism] that violate the freedom and dignity of the individual American citizen."


"The Soldiers Vote Act and its Effect on the Distribution of Books." Publishers' Weekly, 145:2244-49, 17 June 1944. S512

Concern by the Council on Books in Wartime, which issues book editions to the Armed Services, that its publishing program might be impaired as a result of the Act. Contains an analysis of the section of the Act pertaining to distribution of political propaganda, made by the Adjutant General's Office.


Solinger, David M. "Television and the Law." Fortune, 38:161-62, December 1948. S513

Discusses the rights and obligations of the new television industry with respect to others--libel, defamation, and the right of privacy.


Some Account of a Very Seditious Book, Lately found upon Wimbledon Common, by One of His Majesty's Secretaries of State, with a Commentary, By the Right Hon. Gentleman, and Notes By the Editor. London, J. Owen, 1794. 38p. S514

An amusing satire on the government's attack on seditious literature, closing with this advertisement: "The Editor requests the favour of any Gentlemen who may be fortunate enough to find any Political Treatises in their hunting or shooting parties, and of any Traveller, who may meet with them upon any highway or common, to transmit them to him via Mr. Owen, for castration, translation, and publication.


"Some Legislative Aspects of the Birth-Control Problem." Harvard Law Review, 45:723-29, February 1932. S515

A review of the varying and often contradictory policies of the 26 states that have statutes relating to birth control information and devices.


"Some Views on State Censorship of Literature." South African Libraries, 21:71-72, January 1954. S516

Excerpts from commentaries on state censorship appearing in African, British, and American papers.


Somers, Gerald A. "The Librarian's Syndrome." Library Journal, 89:4672-74, 1 December 1964. S517

Librarians ought to know more about themselves, their prejudices, motivations, weaknesses, as well as about their books, if they are to perform a sound job in book selection.


Somers, John. The Security of Englishmen's Lives: or the Trust, Power, and Duty of Grand Juries of England Explained . . . London, J. Almon, 1771. (First edition, 1681) S518

Lord Somers' tract on the right of trial by jury was reprinted during a period when criminal libel charges were being filed against authors, publishers, and booksellers "without so much as suffering a Grand Jury to inquire whether the case be criminal or not."


Somerville, Don S. A Study of Local Regulations and Group Actions in the Circulation of Newsstand Publications. Urbana, Ill., University of Illinois, 1956. 246p. (Ph.D. dissertation, University microfilms, no. 18,199) S519


"Something Burning." Newsweek, 41:23, 29 June 1953. S520

Report of book burning by U.S. government officials in overseas information libraries, an outgrowth of the McCarthy attacks on communism


Sommer, Frank H. "The Fading Bill of Rights." New York University Law Quarterly Review, 4:10-34, February 1927. S521

State rather than federal legislation constitutes the major legal threat to freedom of speech and the press.


Sonderegger, Leo. "Right to Read." Minnesota Libraries, 17:205-7, September 1953. S522


Sonntag, Nathaniel. "Canon 1399, Related Canons, and the College and University Library." In Catholic Library Association, Proceedings, 1957. Louisville, Ky., CLA, 1957, pp. 85-90. S523


"Sound and Fury over Free Speech." Literary Digest, 123:3-4, 1 May 1937. S524

"Liberty of expression in the United States won a needed victory a few days ago. Public outcry forced the Kansas State Board of Review to cancel an order eliminating a blast of Sen. Burton K. Wheeler of Montana against the Supreme Court plan from the current issue of 'The March of Time.'"


South Africa. Commission of Enquiry in Regard to Undesirable Publications. Report. Pretoria, South Africa, Govt. Printer, 1957. 285p. S525

Chapters 1 and 2 consider the nature of the problem; chapter 3 analyzes specific objectionable aspects in books, magazines, and newspapers; chapters 4 through 11 consider combating and regulating measures; chapter 12 through 22 discuss preventive measures including the responsibility of family, schools, universities, libraries, churches, the book trade, and the South African Institute for Literature.


-------. Parliament. House of Assembly. Select Committee on the Newspaper Libel Bill. Report . . . [with Special Report, Proceedings and Minutes of Evidence]. Cape Town, South Africa, Cape Town Times, 1931. l0p. (Published by order of the House of Assembly) S526


"South African Censorship Bill." Bookseller, 2990:1582-83, 13 April 1963. S527

Account of the passage of a bill setting up a Publications Control Board.


[South African Library Association]. "Report of the Commission on Undesirable Publications; Memorandum Sent by the Council of the South African Library Association to the Hon. the Minister of the Interior." South African Libraries, 25:113-15, April 1958. S528


Southern Baptist Convention. Christian Life Commission. Speeches from Daily Conferences on the Traffic in Obscene Literature. Glorieta Baptist Assembly [Nashville, Tenn.?]. 1957. 44p. mimeo. S529 §

The Assembly was held at Glorieta, New Mexico.


Southey, Robert. A Letter to William Smith, Esq. M.P. from Robert Southey, Esq. 3d ed. London, John Murray, 1817. 45p. S530

The poet laureate of England is aggrieved that his poem, Wat Tyler, written in his youth and published without his approval, has been brought up in Parliament to his discredit. The piece was mischievous, he said, and "written under the influence of opinions which I have long since outgrown, and repeatedly disclaimed." Both Richard Carlile and W. T Sherwin published the poem and gave it wide circulation. Southey attempted to stop publication on the basis of his literary property rights. The court, however, ruled the work libelous and not subject to protection. Wat Tylerwas critical of taxes, the church, the king, and the courts.


Southwell, Charles. "Plain Answer to the Query, ought there to Be a Law against Blasphemy?" Birmingham, Eng., J. Taylor, 1842. 23p. S531


-------. The Trial of Charles Southwell, (Editor of "The Oracle of Reason") for Blasphemy. Before Sir Charles Wetherall . . . January the 14th, 1842. Specially Reported by William Carpenter. London, Hetherington, 1842. 104p. S532

In 1841 Southwell started publishing in Bristol, Eng., the Oracle of Reason,a journal of free thought with the avowed purpose of challenging existing legal and social restrictions on dissemination of atheist thought. The fourth number was critical of the Bible, which he derisively called the "Jew Book." Southwell was brought to trial for blasphemous libel, was convicted and sentenced to a year in prison. A committee, including such free press advocates as Hetherington and Holyoake, was formed to protest this "interference with speculative opinion." Holyoake took over as editor of The Oracle during Southwell's imprisonment, until he also was sent to jail.


Sowle, Claude R. "Press-Created Prejudice in Criminal Trials--A Mirage?" Nieman Reports, 18(3):16-17, September 1964. S533

Pretrial prejudice is rarely a factor in a fair trial, unless the case is highly unusual or the persons involved enjoy a special status in the community


Spangler, Raymond. "Open Court & Fair Press." Nation, 202:421-24, 11 April 1966. S534


"Spanking the Movies." Literary Digest, 122(2):20-21, 11 July 1936. S535

Reaction of the Legion of Decency and the Federal Council of Churches to the work of the Hays office. It has done some good but not enough.


Spargo, John. Anthony Haswell, Printer-Patriot-Ballader; A biographical Study with a Selection of his Ballads and an Annotated Bibliographical List of His Imprints. Rutland, Vt., Tuttle, 1925. 293p. (Limited to 300 copies, signed by author) S536

In 1800 Haswell, editor of the Vermont Gaztteand popular ballader, was brought to trial under the Sedition Act for passages appearing in his paper. Judge Patterson practically demanded conviction in his charge to the jury. Haswell was found guilty and imprisoned for two months. He made the most of his confinement, issuing frequent letters from prison, which were widely used against the Federalists in the campaign of 1800. On his release from prison Haswell was received as a hero by his Bennington friends. He celebrated his martyrdom by composing a ballad entitled, A Review of Past Scenes.


[Sparke, Michael]. Scintilla, or A Light Broken Into darke Warehouses. With Observations upon the Monopolists of Seaven severall Patents, and Two charters. Practiced and performed, By a Mistery of some Printers, Sleeping Stationers, and Combining Booksellers . . . London, [Michael Sparke]. 1641. S537

An attack by the Puritain publisher against the monopoly practices of the printing trade, particularly against Robert Barker, the king's printer, the principal Bible patentee who spared no efforts in fighting infringements of his monopoly. Sparke, the printer of Prynne's banned Histrio-Mastix, was involved in almost every case of "seditious" printing of his time. He was committed to prison at least 11 times for objectionable printing, yet continued to challenge the authority of both Church and Crown to control the press.


[-------]. A Second Beacon fired by Scintilla . . . Wherein is remembered the former Actings of the Papists in their secret Plots: And now discovering their wicked Designes to set up, advance, and cunningly to usher in Popery; By introducing Pictures to the Holy Bible: . . . Also Shewing and setting forth the Misery Of the whole Company of Stationers . . . in these sad times, when Blasphemy, Negromancy, Popery, and all Heresies be Printed and Publiquely Sold, in a most horrid manner without controll or Punishment. London, [Sparke]. 1652. 11p. S538


Sparrow, John. "The Censor as Aedile." In his Independent Essays. London, Faber and Faber, 1963, pp. 193-209. S539 §

An essay, based on a review of Regina v. Penguin Books Ltd., the Transcript of the Trial, edited by C. H. Rolph, and Censorship, the 1961 Rede Lecture by Lord Radcliffe. Sparrow criticizes the trial of Lady Chatterley's Loverand the biased, though vivid, reporting of the trial by Mr. Rolph. If the book had been tried under common law on grounds of public mischief rather than under the Jenkins Act, the "sheer indecency of the book" would have been brought into focus. He agrees with Lord Radcliffe's broader perspective. Is not the real reason for prosecuting an indecent book, he asks, the fact that it is indecent, not that the public is being corrupted or depraved? Prosecutions for obscenity should not be used to protect public morals but should be considered in the same department of law that forbids "solicitation" and indecent exposure, or, to use Lord Radcliffe's expression, to adopt "the old aedile business of keeping the roads clean and the air sweet."


Sparrow-Simpson, W. J. "Roman Index of Prohibited Books." Quarterly Review, 247:1-15, July 1926. S540

A general review of the Catholic Index with special reference to English authors and readers. "We English people, conscious of the reduction of authority among ourselves to a shadow and a name, may well look with wonder on an authority which excommunicates a man if he dares to read a book . . . . We may still have misgivings whether this imperious despotic rule is after all the better state."


Spaulding, William E. "Can Textbooks Be Subversive?" Educational Record, 34:297-304, October 1953. S541

A textbook publisher explains the procedures that go into the making of textbooks and the adoption of textbooks by schools. He feels that we should give people an understanding of the procedures in order to refute the claim of subversiveness in textbooks, which he feels is most improbable under the present system of publishing.


Speight, Harold E. B. "The Case of John Peter Zenger, a Momentous Trial." American German Review, 2:11-12+, September 1935. S542

A brief summary of the Zenger libel trial, New York, 1735.


Speirs, Charles H. The Effects of Political Censorship in the United States on Public Libraries and Librarians from 1945 to 1955. Cleveland, Western Reserve University, 1957. 55p. (Unpublished Master's thesis) S543


[Spence, Thomas]. The Important Trial of Thomas Spence for a Political Pamphlet, Entitled "The Restorer of Society to Its Natural State," on May 27th 1801, at Westminster Hall before Lord Kenyon and a Special Jury . . . London, Printed by A. Seale for T. Spence. 1803. 47p. S544

Spence was indicted in 1801 for writing and publishing a seditious libel concerning land ownership. Spence's proposal for the distribution of land to the parishes, Lord Kenyon ruled, was a threat to hereditary landlordship and Spence was given a year's imprisonment. He defended himself with great ability and published this account of the trial after his release.


[-------]. Trial of Thomas Spence in 1801, together with his Description of Spensonia, Constitution of Spensonia, End of Oppression. Recantation of the End of Oppression, Newcastle on Tyne Lecture Delivered in 1775, also a Brief Life of Spence and a Description of his Political Token Dies. By Arthur W. Waters. . . . Leamington Spa, Eng., Privately printed at the Courier Press, 1917. 131p. (Seventy-five copies of this book were printed and signed by Arthur W. Waters) S545

Spence, who conducted a private school, was expelled from the Newcastle Philosophical Society in 1775 for delivering an offensive paper on the English landlord system. In 1792 he opened a bookstore in London and in the following year was arrested for selling Paine's Rights of Man, but was acquitted on a technicality. Between 1792 and 1795 he was arrested four times for publication and sale of objectionable works.


Spencer, Harry C. "The Christian and the Censorship of Television, Radio and Films." Religion in Life, 30:17-31, Winter 1960-61. S546

The author is general secretary of the Television, Radio and Film Commission of the Methodist Church. Obscenity, he stated, is a terrible disease, but censorship is only treating the symptoms. The deeper evil lies in man's loneliness in a vast universe, in the long history of prudery and shocked modesty which the Church has had toward sex, and the unsatisfactory personal relations which result in persistent frustrations for vast numbers. It is the job of the Church to help people mature, to build integrity in relationships, and to enhance individual self-respect.


Spencer, Herbert. "The Rights of Free Speech and Publication." In his Principles of Ethics. New York, Appleton, 1893. vol. 2, pp. 141-47. (First published in 1879) S547

"So long as he does not suggest the commission of crimes, each citizen is free to say what he pleases about any or all of our institutions--even to the advocacy of a form of government utterly different from that which exists, or the condemnation of all governments."


Spender, John A. "Liberty of the Press." Spectator, 155:857-58, 22 November 1935. S548

"The really important freedom is not that of dancing on the edge of Campbell's Act, but freedom to write fearlessly on matters of public importance, freedom, above all, to express unpopular opinions--opinions which the established authorities may think dangerous." A free and courageous press is needed to prevent conservatism from slipping into fascism, and radicalism into revolution. This entire issue of the Spectator is devoted to various aspects of freedom.


-------. "On the Freedom of the Press." In his Last Essays. London, Cassell, 1944, pp. 7-9. S549

A general statement on the importance of a free press in the life of the nation, from a broadcast talk, 25 March 1938.


-------. "The Press in Wartime." In his Last Essays. London, Cassell, 1944, pp. 72-85. (Reprinted from the Yorkshire Observer, 22 September 1940) S550

"We submit without demur to all discipline that is necessary in war for the safety of the public and the fighting forces. But we remain the eyes and ears of the Government, and we ask it to bear in mind that it would run the risk of becoming deaf and blind if it encroached unnecessarily on our activities."


Spingarn, Jerome H. "Huntington Cairns, Federal Censor." American Mercury, 68:683-91, June 1949. S551

A description of the man who had served (at time of writing) for 15 years as advisor to the U.S. Customs in matters of censorship, under the authority of the Tariff Act.


-------. Radio Is Yours. New York, Public Affairs Committee, 1946. 31p. (Public Affairs Pamphlet no. 121) S552

The public who ultimately pays the bill is entitled to a free and responsible radio. The pamphlet suggests ways in which the public can influence radio programs and policies, citing the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Community Radio Council as an example of listener participation.


Spingarn, Lawrence P. "Censorship by Sensation; the Case Against Publishers." Trace, 35:1-6, January-February 1960. S553

The author, concerned with the decline of the American short story, claims publishers are guilty of censorship in their selection of material for publication. They "regard magazine stories as ephemera, and rather woo the public in terms of the novel, which they manipulate for greater profit toward Hollywood production."


Spitz, David. "Milton's Testament." Antioch Review, 13:290-302, September 1953. (Reprinted in Downs, The First Freedom, pp. 8-14) S554 §

A professor of political science discusses Milton's Areopagitica.


Sprading, Charles T. Freedom and Its Fundamentals. Los Angeles, Libertarian Publishing Co., 1923. 255p. S555

A presentation based on the Law of Equal Freedom, as adopted by the Libertarian League. This embraces principles of freedom of thought, speech, press, assembly, education, science, literature, amusements, religion, and initiative. A chapter on freedom of the press consists of a series of epigrams followed by brief statements of eminent "libertarian thinkers": John Milton, John Locke, David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, Robert Hall, James Mill, John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, and Thomas Cooper. The author's libertarian theories on freedom of the press are developed further in his book, Real Freedom, Los Angeles, 1954.


Sprague, Charles A. "Our Free Press. How Free?" Nieman Reports, 7(1):3-4, January 1953. S556

The editor of the Oregon Statesman and alternate delegate to the UN Assembly answers Soviet charges against the United States press, made before the UN Committee on Freedom of Information.


-------. "UN Considers Freedom of Information." U.S. State Department Bulletin, 27:789-94, 17 November 1952. S557

The author describes the events that have taken place in recent years, following the Geneva Conference on Freedom of Information, as "among the most significant in the long history of man's struggle for free expression and of his efforts to safeguard the freedom already attained. But what has happened is quite different from what we hoped would happen."


Sprague, Homer B. "Societies for the Suppression of Vice." Education, 3:70-81, September 1882. S558

The first president of the New England Society for the Suppression of Vice defends the work of vice societies in general and Anthony Comstock in particular, in an impassioned, and melodramatic attack on obscenity. He charges the "dirt eaters" with "finding nutriment in Leaves of Grass, but not in fig leaves." Sprague, a classical scholar and principal of the Boston Girls' High and Normal School, had just taken part in the suppression of the Boston publication of Whitman's work.


Sprague, Stuart. "Freedom of the Air." Air Law Review, 8:30-45, January 1937. (Excerpted in Summers, Radio Censorship, pp. 121-23) S559


-------. "More Freedom of the Air." Air Law Review, 11:17-28, January 1940. (Reprinted in New York University School of Law Pamphlets, series 1, no. 26) S560 §

The radio networks have imposed a rigid self-censorship because of state laws under which they may be sued for libel even where there is no negligence, such as when a speaker deviates from a script. The author recommends the rule of due care and liability through fault only. Five states have already, by court decision or legislation, adopted more moderate liability standards.


Spring, Samuel. "Invasion of Privacy and the Use of Photos in Books." Publishers' Weekly, 162:19-21, 5 July 1952. S561


-------. Risks & Rights in Publishing, Television, Radio, Motion Pictures, Advertising, and the Theater. 2d ed., rev. New York, Norton, 1956. 365p. S562

A comprehensive work on the legal aspects of privacy, slander, libel, copyright, and unfair competition, written for persons engaged in mass communications. Chapter 23 deals with obscenity and censorship, citing a number of significant court decisions.


Sproul, Robert G. "First Amendment; Allow New Freedom to Be Flanked." Vital Speeches, 10:89-90, 15 November 1943. S563

The president, University of California, speaks in behalf of the freedom of the American newspaper.


Spry, Graham. "Case for Nationalized Broadcasting." Queens Quarterly, 38:151-69, Winter 1931. (Reprinted in Buehler, America vs. British System of Radio Control, pp. 190-92) S564

"This paper is a statement of the case for the establishment of a Canadian Radio Broadcasting Company to own and operate all broadcasting stations, under a Royal Charter or an Act of Parliament.


[Squire, Francis]. A Faithful Report of a Genuine Debate Concerning the Liberty of the Press, Addressed to a Candidate at the Ensuing Election, Wherein a Sure and Safe Method Is Proposed of Restraining the Abuse of That Liberty Without the Least Encroachment upon the Rights and Privileges of the Subject. London, Printed for J. Roberts, 1740. 58p. (Reprinted in 1764 by T. Becket and P. A. DeHondt) S565

The author believes in strict press control, fairly imposed. He would provide such safeguards as: (1) the right for a defendant to make public his defense, (2) the right to accuse, if the accuser can prove the charge, and (3) the right to public reporting of parliamentary proceedings, if accurate.


Squire, Sir John C. "On Destroying Books." In his Life at the Mermaid. London, Collins' Clear-Type Press, [1927], pp. 92-96. S566

A whimsical essay on the difficulty but necessity of destroying one's old books which may make fools of themselves for posterity. At midnight the author takes a sack of old books, slinks down to the Thames and drops them in. When he gets home he regrets his harsh deed but remarks that at least "I should not have sent you to the soldiers."


Squires, Grant. "Experiences of a War Censor." Atlantic Monthly, 83:425-32, March 1899. S567

Account of the110-day military censorship exercised by the United States during the Spanish-American War through control of all telegraph and cable lines.


Srygley, Sara M. K. "Schools under Fire." Library Journal, 76:2049-50, 15 December 1951. S568

Suggestions to help school librarians combat censorship pressures and to encourage free access to controversial materials and their intelligent use by young people.


[Stable, Sir Wintringham N.]. The Summing Up by Mr. Justice Stable. Regina v. Martin Secker & Warburg, Ltd., Frederic J. Warburg, The Camelot Press, Ltd. "The Philanderer" Case. [New York], Printed by Clarke & Way for Blanche and Alfred Knopf, 1954. 16p. (Edition limited to 600 copies) S569

The text of Justice Stable's decision in Central Criminal Court, London, in 1954, freeing the book, The Philanderer, of charges of obscene libel.


"Stage Censorship Is Certain Unless . . ." Theatre Guild Magazine, 8(5):11-17, February 1931. (Reprinted in Journal of Social Hygiene, March 1931) S570

"An inquiry among all shades of representative opinion concerning control of the stage to discover whether there is not some common ground on which all reasonable persons can unite." Includes opinions of Arthur Brisbane, H. L. Mencken, John S. Sumner, Heywood Broun, Amos Pinchot, Chief of Police Edward P. Mulrooney, Canon William S. Chase, John Dewey, Roger Baldwin, Norman Thomas, Rev. John Haynes Holmes, Elmer Davis, Herbert Bayard Swope, and others. Questions asked: Would voluntary stage censorship obviate licensing boards? If obscenity for profit were banned should the stage then be free to present serious plays? Is precensorship of manuscripts practicable in view of alterations made in rehearsals? Does a play jury system as advocated by Actors' Equity offer a reasonable guarantee against indecent exhibitions? A wide difference in opinion was reflected in the answers, and was summarized as follows: "The theatrical profession should and probably can exercise an effectual voluntary control to obviate obscenity on the stage. If the theatrical profession does not voluntarily take steps to this end, legal censorship of the New York stage is inevitable."


Stage the High Road to Hell: Being an Essay on the Pernicious Nature of Theatrical Entertainments; Shewing them to be at Once Inconsistent with Religion, and Subversive of Morality . . . London, Nicoll, [1767?]. 43p. S571


Stallings, Laurence. "F.D.R.: Censor-in-Chief." Esquire, 35(3):35, 111-12, March 1951. S572 §

Reminiscence of a 1934 preview of a film history of World War I by President Roosevelt, with the President's comments on the Chief Executive's powers as censor.


"The Stamped Press: The Mighty Organ of Good and Evil." Tait's Edinburgh Magazine, 2 (n.s.):167-75, March 1835. S573


Standing, Paul. "Nipples on the Newsstand." Canadian Forum, 41:155-56, October 1961. S574

Humorous commentary on the so-called "skin books," such as Playboy, Swank, Gent, Rogue,which the author considers an encouraging phenomenon. The publishers of the skin books "like the breasts, which it is their pleasure and pride to present, ought to be supported."


Stanley, Earl R. "Revocation, Renewal of License, and Fines and Forfeiture Cases before the Federal Communications Commission." Journal of Broadcasting, 3:371-82, Fall 1964. S575

A tabulation of radio and television stations, which in the past 4 years, were in jeopardy because of alleged violations of FCC rules or the Communications Act, shows that 26 stations had their licenses revoked or renewal denied.


Stansbury, Arthur J. Report of the Trial of James H. Peck, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Missouri, before the Senate of the United States, in an Impeachment Preferred by the House of Representatives against him for High Misdemeanors in Office. Boston, Hilliard, Gray, 1833. 592p. S576

In 1831 impeachment proceedings were brought against Federal District Judge Peck who had suspended an attorney from practice and had him imprisoned for criticizing one of the judge's opinions. Judge Peck was acquitted, but James Buchanan, who had been prosecutor, introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to limit the power to punish contempts.


Stanton, Frank. "Free Press v. Fair Trial: The Broadcaster's View." North Dakota Law Review, 47:7-13, November 1964. S577

"Electronic communications, in this time of social unrest, offer the higher courts of the states and the nation an opportunity fully to bring the people, whom they serve and to whom they are ultimately answerable, within reach of their presence, their intellectual influence, and their moral force. To realize this opportunity is clearly in the intent of the court. It is overwhelmingly in the intent of the people." Television would not necessarily interfere with the orderly conduct of a trial, but would serve a useful educational purpose. This article is followed by the judge's point of view, presented by Bernard S. Meyer.


-------. Suspend 315. New York, Columbia Broadcasting System, 1961. 7p. S578

The president of C.B.S., in an address before the Broadcast Advertising Club of Chicago, recommends suspension of the equal time rule for political candidates.


-------. "Would Bricker Choke TV's Bloodstream?" Broadcasting-Telecasting, 50:66-68, 21 May 1956. S579

A condensation of the C.B.S. executive's talk before the American Marketing Association in Philadelphia. Stanton defends television and marketing and opposes Senator Bricker's proposal for government regulation of the networks as a public utility.


Stanton, Herbert E. "Prohibition Is Back--For Books" and "Censor's Choice: A Checklist of Banned Books." Antiquarian Bookman, 12:1487-91, 21 November 1953. (Reprinted from booklets published by the author) S580

Includes an editorial on banned books decrying the plight of the bookseller who is the chief victim of the censorship system.


Stapleton, Larrick B. "Testimony Privilege of Journalist." West Virginia Law Review, 61:220-24, April 1959. S581

Notes on the case, Garland v. Torre,259 F. 2d 545.


Starck, Kenneth. "Trial by Jury; from 1735 . . . to 1966." Grassroots Editor, 7(2):5-7, April 1966. S582 §

The trial of Eugene H. Wirges, editor of the Morrilton, Ark., Democrat, on charges of perjury growing out of a libel suit and involving Wirges' investigations of county government. The article compares Wirges' trial with that of John Peter Zenger. Zenger was found not guilty; Wirges was found guilty.


Stark, Alexander. "Newspapers and the Law of Libel." Canadian Bar Review, 24:861-78, December 1946. S583

A general review of the law of libel as applied to the press in England, the United States, and Canada. The paper, delivered to the Lawyers Club of Toronto, contains an amusing incident of an elderly Toronto lawyer who managed, by means of a clever poem, to get the Toronto Daily Star to acknowledge a libel.


Starkie, Thomas. A Treatise on the Law of Slander, Libel, Scandalum Magnatum, and False Rumours; including Rules which Regulate Intellectual Communications, Affecting the Characters of Individuals and the Interests of the Public . . . 1st American edition with notes and references to American and the late English cases. By Edward D. Ingraham. New York, G. Lamson, 1826. 616p. S584

The first generally recognized treatise on English libel law, the basis for many subsequent works. First published in London by J. S. W. T. Clarke, 1812. Unlike Blackstone, Starkie believes that the absence of prior restraints does not constitute a free press. The "pains and penalties inflicted for that which has been published" may be "so unwarrantably severe" as to prevent future publication. "Something more than the mere absence of previous restraint is essential to the liberty of the press."


Starr, Isidore. "Recent Supreme Court Decisions: Censorship of Film." Social Education, 26:19-22, January 1962. S585

A review of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Times Film Corp. v. the City of Chicago, 365 U.S. 43 (1961) and an analysis of the majority and minority reports. The author concludes: "The movie censor has been given a lease on life by five of the justices."


"State Court Upholds Constitutionality of Refusal to License Lady Chatterley's Lover under Recently Amended Motion Picture Licensing Statute." Columbia Law Review, 59:337-51, February 1959. S586

The case of Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the University of New York, 1958.


State Law: Or, the Doctrine of Libels, Discussed and Examined. London, Printed by E. & R. Nutt and R. Gosling for T. Wotton and J. Shuckburgh, [1730?]. 136p. S587

Reports on a variety of libel cases: Henry Care, Weekly Packet of Advice from Rome; William Hurt, Flying Post; and Edmund Curll, Ker of Kersland's Memoirs. Includes opinions on seditious libel by Justices Hale, Holt, and Parker.


"State Sedition Laws: Their Scope and Misapplication." Indiana Law Journal, 31:270-85, Winter 1956. S588


State Trials for High Treason, Embellished with Portraits . . . Reported by a Student in the Temple to which is prefixed Lord Chief Justice Eyre's Charge to the Grand Jury. London, B. Crosby, 1794. 3 pts. bound together, separately paged. S589

Pt. 1, Trial of Thomas Hardy, 275p. Pt. 2, Trial of John Horne Tooke, 152p. Pt. 3, Trial of John Thelwall, 126p.


"Statutory Prohibition of Group Defamation." Columbia Law Review, 47:595-613, May 1947. S590


Staudacher, Lucas G. "Public's Right to Know is Denied at the Grass Roots, This Survey Shows." Quill, 44(10):9-14, October 1956. S591

"A study of 409 Wisconsin newspapers, radio and television stations reveals that censorship exists for 24 media with some secrecy problems continuing over long periods."


Steadman, J. M., Jr. "Language Taboos of American College Students." English Studies (Amsterdam), 17:81-91, April 1935. S592


-------. "A Study of Verbal Taboos." American Speech, 10:93-103, April 1935. S593


Steadwell, B. S. "J. Frank Chase." Light, 173:11, January-February 1927. S594

An obituary of the long-time secretary of the New England Watch and Ward Society, by the editor of The Light.


Steamer, Robert J. "Freedom of Information: a Constitutional Right." Nieman Reports, 14(3):24-26, July 1960. S595 §

Talk at the Southwestern Journalism Congress at Baton Rouge, 11 March 1960. "Establishing the theoretical consitutional right of the people to be informed means nothing unless that right can be vindicated, and the chief means of vindication is, of course, the press. . . . The people are no longer being informed; they are merely being told what some official thinks they ought to know. This is little better than the secret government of absolute monarchs, and tends to become dangerously like the press of the Soviet Union."


-------. "Mr. Justice Jackson and the First Amendment." University of Pittsburgh Law Review, 15:193-221, Winter 1954. S596

Opinions of Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson.


-------. A Self-Evident Assumption. Columbia, Mo., Freedom of Information Center, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 1960. 3p. (Publication no. 32) S597 §

A government professor considers freedom of the press as "a self-evident assumption" for a democratic government.


Stearns, Charles. "Memoir of William Pynchon." New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 13:289-97, October 1959. S598

Pynchon's book, The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption, was the first book banned in the American colonies, 1650-51. Portrait of Pynchon, opposite page 289. An account of the action against the book also appears in Samuel Eliot Morison's article on Pynchon in Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, February 1931. A photo-reproduction of one of the four extant copies of The Meritorious Price (in the Congregational Library, Boston) was produced by Harry A. Wright of Springfield, Mass., in 1931.


Stechhan, H. O. "Censoring Shakespeare." Authors' League Bulletin, 15(1):19, April 1927. S599

The Merchant of Venice is no longer permitted to be taught in the Los Angeles high schools because of pressures brought by Jewish groups.


Steed, Henry W. The Press. London, William Clowes; Penguin Books, 1938. 250p. S600

A critical survey of the significance, influence, and workings of the British press. Mr. Steed does not believe that "commercial journalism" has provided the independence and freedom that is necessary for serving the British public. He lauds the B.B.C., which, unhampered by money-making, is doing a better job of public communication.


Steed, Wickham. "Watchdogs and Morals; an English View of Censorship." Outlook, 155:3-5, 7 May 1930. S601

One way out of the censorship dilemma may "lie in the education of a healthy public taste by self-discipline on the part of the artists themselves."


Steele, Wilbur Daniel. "As to Censorship." Authors' League Bulletin, 15(1):14-15, April 1927. S602

A lampooning of all forms of prohibition, including censorship.


Steff, Alfred L., Jr. "Constitutional Law--Defamation." University of Pittsburgh Law Review, 25:752-55, June 1964. S603

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan,376 U.S. 254 (1964), in which the U.S. Supreme Court reverses the Alabama libel decision against the New York Times.


Steffens, Joseph L. Suppression of Free Speech in New York and in New Jersey . . . together with the Full Text of the Suppressed Lecture by Emma Goldman and the Addresses by Leonard Abbott and Alden Freeman . . . [East Orange, N.J., East Orange Record, 1909]. 28p. S604


Steffens, Lincoln. ["Free Speech v. Censorship"]. Everybody's Magazine, 25:717-20, November 1911; 25:796-99, December 1911. S605

In the October 1911 issue of Everybody's Magazine, the publisher, Erman J. Ridgway, had urged a ban on two current broadway plays and recommended censorship of plays and magazines injurious to the morals of youth. Steffens answers Ridgway in two letters endorsing complete freedom of speech and press. People cannot be made good by force of law; only self-censorship is effective. He cites the teachings of Jesus as argument against the use of force. In the January 1912 issue Hugh Black, professor of theology, Union Theological Seminary, agrees with Steffens' opposition to censorship, believing that criticism and the force of public opinion is more effective.


Steichen, Edward. ["Defense of Evergreen Review and Cadoo"]. Evergreen Review, 33:32, August-September 1964. S606

The director-emeritus of photography at the Museum of Modern Art defends the portfolios of nudes by Emil J. Cadoo, appearing in the April-May issue of Evergreen Review, which had resulted in the seizure of 21,000 copies of that issue by a Nassau County vice squad.


More...


Addendum




Go back to Table of Contents

Go To Bibliography Text of T


Comments: Web Administrator

Privacy Policy Last Updated