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Thomson, John. An Enquiry, Concerning the Liberty, and Licentiousness of the Press, and the Uncontroulable Nature of the Human Mind: containing an investigation of the right which government have to controul the free expression of public opinion, Addressed to the People of the U. States . . . New York, Printed by Johnson & Stryker, for the Author, 1801. 84p. (Text reprinted with commentary in Levy, Freedom of the Press from Zenger to Jefferson, pp. 284-317) T102
"Let the whig and tory, the royalist and aristocrate, the republican and democrat, or by whatever other name the partizans of political parties are designated . . . be allowed to express their opinions, whether by speech or press, with the same unconstrained freedom with which men of science discuss their subjects of investigation. No more danger will result from one discussion, than arises from the other . . . Give unto all opinions the same freedom and the same effects will follow. . . . It is of no consequence to enquire who writes a paper or a pamphlet, where principles and not individuals are the subject of investigation. The only reasonable enquiry is, are the principles contended for just? If they are, let them have their due weight; if otherwise, they will meet with their merited contempt. In all cases, however, where specific or general charges are exhibited against an individual, or individuals; the person's name ought to be affixed to the publication. In this case, wilful culumny and abuse would never dare to make their appearance. He who had been once convicted of publishing a malicious falsehood, would forever after be deprived of the means of giving currency to his culumnies. Let not Government interfere. The laws of society, as before observed, are fully sufficient to the purpose." This pamphlet was written after the expiration of the Alien and Sedition Acts, with the hope of the author that we will "guard ourselves from being again fettered by a measure of that kind."
Thomson, John M. "Obscenity Statutes--Freedom of Speech." Miami Law Quarterly, 11:523-26, Summer 1957. T103
Comments on Butler v. Michigan, 352 U.S. 963 (1956). The U.S. Supreme Court held the obscenity statute under which a Michigan bookseller was convicted in violation of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Thornton, John L. "The Censorship of Books." Library Journal, 59:313-14, 1 April 1934. T104
"It will be a long time before all librarians are agreed upon the subject of sex literature in the public library. Meanwhile they will have to study the individual requirements of their neighborhoods, the status of the people using the library, and attempt the impossible, of satisfying every member of the community concerned." A letter from a London college librarian.
Thornton, Richard H. "English Authors Placed on the Roman Index (1600-1750)." Notes and Queries, 12 (11th ser.):333, 30 October 1915. T105
Thorp, Willard. "Defenders of Ideality." In Spiller, et al. Literary History of the United States. 3d ed. rev. New York, Macmillan, 1963, pp. 809-26. T106
Thorp discusses the conservative literary critics, including the neohumanists, who reacted strongly against the uninhibited expression of the twenties. The group included Bliss Perry, Irving Babbitt, Paul Elmer More, Stuart Pratt Sherman, and Brander Matthews. Perry and the author, Hamlin Garland, supported the Watch and Ward in its efforts at collective action against "debasing forms of art." Sherman and Matthews, while disgusted with the trend in modern literature, believed the solution lay in improvement of taste rather than in suppression.
Thrasher, Frederic M. "The Comics and Delinquency: Cause or Scapegoat?" Journal of Educational Sociology, 23:195:205, December 1949. T107
Criticism of the writings of Fredric Wertham on the effects of comic books on juvenile delinquency. The author maintains that there is no acceptable evidence that the reading of comic books has, or has not a significant relation to delinquent behavior.
-------. "Education versus Censorship." Journal of Educational Sociology, 13:285-306, January 1940. T108
A consideration of the motion picture--its effect on the viewer, the problems of encouraging better movies, and the fallacies of some of the current ideas on the social control of the movies.
"Threat to a Free Press." Nation, 139:467-68, 24 October 1934. T109
Editorial charges that the attitude of the American Newspaper Publishers' Association in criticizing news handouts in the Roosevelt administration is hypocritical. "Nobody censors news and suppresses more freely than do many of the newspaper publishers of this country."
"Threat to Liberty." Library Association Record, 40:101-2, March 1938. T110
An editorial critical of the action of a library committee that excluded propaganda periodicals and required committee review of the book collection to eliminate all books "propagandist in character."
"Threats of Federal Censorship Send a Shudder Through the Movie World." Current Opinion, 62:185-86, March 1917. T111
"Throwing the Rule Book." Time, 57:70-72, 22 January 1951. T112
American military censorship in Korea.
Thurtle, Ernest. "The Printing Press and Truth." Rationalist Annual, 1939:49-55, 1939. T113
Discusses difficulty that unorthodox ideas have in getting into print. While there is freedom from state censorship or control, lack of funds (in the case of books) and monopoly control (in the case of newspapers) weigh heavily on the side of the status quo.
Tidball, Eugene C. "The Censorship of Moving Pictures: An Open Question." Montana Law Review, 17:193-203, Spring 1956. T114
A survey of the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions with respect to movie censorship. The author believes that censorship is still upheld by the Court but only after three requirements are filled: (1) The statutes must be limited so that no picture is censored that is not violative of an interest that the state has a right to protect. (2) The picture must present a "clear and present danger." (3) A movie charged as "obscene" must violate the "primary requirements of decency."
Tiercel, pseud. "Press Control in War Time." Nation (London), 17:568-69, 31 July 1915; 17:607-8, 7 August 1915; 17:637-39, 14 August 1915. T115
The first article is an historical review of press control or the lack of it in the Balkan War; the second describes the inadequate control of the press in the present war (World War I); the final article describes the many sources used by the enemy to secure and piece together information.
Tilsley, Hugh. Treatise on the Stamp Laws in Great Britain and Ireland. . . . 2d ed. London, Stevens & Norton, 1849. 896p. T116
A digest of statutes and cases.
Timberg, Eleanor E. "The Mythology of Broadcasting." Antioch Review, 6:354-67, Fall 1946. T117
A critique of the FCC report, Public Service Responsibility of Broadcast Licensees.
Timbs, John. "Books Burnt." Notes and Queries 8 (ser. 2):37-38, 21 January 1860. T118
Relates to the destruction of copies of Lord Bolingbroke's Essay on a Patriotic King.
"Time to Clean Up Movie Morals." Literary Digest, 71:28-29, 15 October 1921. T119
Timmis, Michael T. "The Right of the Press to Refuse to Disclose Confidential Sources of Information." Wayne Law Review, 10:599-61, Spring 1964. T120
The case of the refusal of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin to turn over to an investigating grand jury documentary sources of information used in writing articles on corruption in city government, 412 Pa. 32, 193 A. 2d 181 (1963).
Timperley, Charles H. Encyclopaedia of Literary and Typographical Anecdote; Being a Chronological Digest of the Most Interesting Facts Illustrative of the History of Literature and Printing from the Earliest Period to the Present Time . . . 2d ed. London, H. G. Bohn, 1842. 996p., 116p., 12p. T121
This chronological reporting of the events in the history of printing and bookselling from earliest times until about the middle of the nineteenth century is a source of detailed information on events relating to freedom of the press and on such figures as Lilburne, Prynne, L'Estrange, Wilkes, Erskine, Carlile, Almon, Cobbett, Bingley, Wooler, Woodfall, and others. It is one of the few sources of information on the activities of minor figures for which there is no full-length account, and for identifying the printers whose names appear in early accounts of trials.
Tindal, Matthew. An Essay Concerning the Power of the Magistrate, and the Rights of Mankind, in Matters of Religion. London, Printed by J. D. for Andrew Bell, 1697. 204p. T122
The essay is a plea for religious tolerance, with casual reference to freedom of the press. In a Postscript in answer to Atterbury's Letter to a Convocation-Man,appended to the main work, Tindal argues against giving the clergy the power of licensing the press.
-------. Four Discourses on the Following Subjects: Viz. 1. Of Obedience to the Supreme Powers, and the Duty of Subjects in all Revolutions; 2. Of the Laws of Nations, and the Rights of Sovereigns; 3. Of the Power of the Magistrate, and the Rights of Mankind in Matters of Religion; 4. Of the Liberty of the Press. London, 1709. 329p. T123 §
-------. A letter to a Friend: Occasioned by the Presentment of the Grand Jury for the County of Middlesex, of the Author, Printer and Publisher of a Book Entitled the Rights of the Christian Church Asserted. London, 1708. 24p. T124
Tindal (or Tindall), a prominent lawyer and theologian, and Richard Sare, the bookseller, were brought to trial for this work (first published in 1706) that dared to criticize the High-Church party. In 1710 the House of Commons ordered the book burned.
[-------]. A Letter to a Member of Parliament, Shewing, that a Restraint On the Press Is Inconsistent with the Protestant Religion, and dangerous to the Liberties of the Nation. London, Printed for J. Darby, 1698. 32p. (Reprinted in A Collection of State Tracts . . ., 1705-7, vol. 2, pp. 614-26, and in Cobbett, Parliamentary History of England, 1806-12, vol. 5, col. 1164) T125 §
This work, attributed to Tindal, was written in opposition to parliamentary proposals to re-enact the licensing law that was allowed to lapse in 1694. It is taken almost entirely from Milton's Areopagitica, without giving credit. The only way to discover truth, Tindal wrote, is to exercise the God-given quality of reason in the examination of many and diverse ideas. Restraint of the press requires men to "blindly submit to the Religion they chance to be educated in," it deprives men of the best means to discover truth, it hinders truth from having an influence on men's minds, it "tends to make us hold the truth guiltily," it prevents men from sharing their ideas in "mutual love and kindness," and it increases the chance of error. The Reformation would not have been possible with press restraint; censorship is a popish device. Licensing will not prevent seditious and blasphemous works; there were more such works printed when the law for regulating the press was in force than before.
[-------]. Reasons against Restraining the Press. London, 1704. 15p. (Also in Baron, The Pillars of Priestcraft and Orthodoxy Shaken, 1768, vol. 4, pp. 279-99 and in Somers, Tracts vol. 12, pp. 462-66) (This is an abridgement of Tindal's A Letter to Members of Parliament . . ., 1698) T126
Tindal, a prominent legal scholar and deist at the turn of the seventeenth century, was an early exponent of the freedom of the press as a natural right. He believed in the application of this right in civil as well as religious controversy and expressed his opinion that if members of the parliament have the right to publish their proceedings "why should they deny those they Represent the same Liberty?" Restraint of the press is "consistent enough with Popery" but strikes at the very foundation of Protestantism. Where the freedom of the press is securely maintained, all other freedoms, civil and ecclesiastical, are safe. Tindal defends anonymity of publications as necessary for writers to speak freely of government abuses without fear of recrimination. (Somers attributes this work to Toland or Tindal)
-------. Second Defence of the Rights of the Christian Church, Occasioned by Two Late Indictments against a Bookseller and His Servant for Selling One of Said Books; in a Letter from a Gentleman in London to a Clergyman in the Country . . . London, 1708. 150p. T127
Relates to the prosecution of Tindal and the bookseller, Sare, for publication of Tindal's The Rights of the Christian Church asserted, Against the Romish and other Priests who claim an Independent Power over it with A Preface concerning the Government of the Church of England, as by Law Established.
Tinker, Edward L. "Whitewashing." Bookman, 60:719-22, February 1925. T128
The author writes of a visit to a famous privately-owned library where the lady in charge told of destroying letters of George Washington because they were "smutty" and might destroy the ideal of our first President. The article deals with the ethics of destroying letters and manuscripts of dead men of note. We must sternly oppose "that colorless class of persons who believes that, once a man of genius dies, he should at once be canonized and clothed with all the conventional virtues."
"To Censor Popular Songs." Literary Digest, 46:1181, 24 May 1913. T129
Maud Powell, violinist, would have our song-makers disciplined by a board of censorship, because of the disrepute of American music through the "unspeakably depraved modern popular song." The Washington Times calls for song censorship by the Post Office Department the same as for books, but other newspapers quoted do not approve.
"To Define Obscenity." Truth Seeker, 33:676-77, 27 October 1906. T130
An editorial on the meeting of the National Purity Federation.
"To Fight Censorship." Literary Digest, 74:32-33, 2 September 1922. T131
A collection of critical comments on John Sumner's proposals for voluntary censorship.
Tobin, A. I., and Elmer Gertz. Frank Harris; a Study in Black and White. Chicago, Madelaine Mendelsohn, 1931. 393p. T132 §
One of a number of biographies of an often-suppressed writer. Numerous references to action against Harris' My Life and Loves.
Tobin, Charles J., Jr. "State and Federal Censorship." Catholic Lawyer, 3:312-21, Autumn 1957. T133 §
The author discusses the "violent period of change" that is taking place in federal and state censorship; he believes that the Roth and Kingsley Books decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court "have given new encouragement to those forces in the community which are concerned with the elimination of indecency and obscenity from our various communications media." In the last analysis, the people, acting through their designated officials, can obtain the kind of law enforcement against obscenity that they desire.
Tobin, Maurice J. [Liberty of the Press]. Address of Maurice J. Tobin, Secretary of Labor, May 1, 1949, New York City before New York Catholic Writers' Association. Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Labor, 1949. 6p. T134
Tobin, Richard L. "It Did Happen Here." Saturday Review, 46:65-66, 14 September 1963. Discussion, 46:49, 12 October 1963; 46:82, 9 November 1963. T135
Concerns the threat to subpoena the reporting and editorial staff of the Register Publishing Co., Danville, Va., as witnesses in civil rights cases and the implications of such action to freedom of the press.
-------. "Just How Free Is the Press?" Saturday Review, 45(36):59-60, 8 September 1962. T136
The author sees a potential threat to a free press in labor union action against newspapers. He cites as an example the Teamsters' refusal to deliver an edition of the Cleveland Press until certain advertising copy was deleted. He also believes that the Newspaper Guild's convention vote committing its members to the endorsement of certain controversial measures in Congress threatens "the traditional dispassionate objectivity of those who write and edit the news."
-------." New York Times' Vital Victory." Saturday Review, 47:69-70, 11 April 1964. T137
"In overturning the notorious Alabama libel award against the Times, our highest court has handed a stunning victory not only to all communicators in this country but to the American public in re-etching the fundamental principles of the U.S. Constitution's free press guarantee."
-------. "News as a Weapon." Saturday Review, 45:61-62, 8 December 1962. T138
Criticism of government news policy in the Cuban crisis of mid-October 1962, as expressed by Arthur Sylvester, assistant secretary of defense for public affairs.
-------. "On Revealing the Source of News." Saturday Review, 66(15):55-56, 9 December 1961. T139
Commentary following the case of the Hawaiian Supreme Court ruling that the reporter does not have a right to conceal his news source when the information is sought in legal matters.
-------. "Two Hits and a Strikeout." Saturday Review, 47(19):59-60, 9 May 1964. T140
The hits: an advertisement in the San Francisco Chronicle that saved the Portland Reporter from having to cease publication and the courage of Xerox Corp. in sponsoring a UN program without product advertising. The strikeout was the recent announcement of the Justice Department that it is going to investigate the newspaper syndicate business.
[Tocker, Mary A.]. The Trial of Miss Mary Ann Tocker, for an Alleged Libel on R. Gurney. . . . New York, Printed for William Cobbett, 1818. 48p. T141
Miss Tocker was tried for an alleged libel in the West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser. The trial took place 5 August 1818 in the town of Bodmin, County of Cornwall. She served as her own lawyer. The judge declared the statement libelous, but the jury insisted in reading it and declared her not guilty. Cobbett wrote (from America) an introduction to the trial: To English Jurymen, On their Duties on Trials for Civil Libel. He praised both Miss Tocker and the jury. A London edition of the trial was published by John Fairburn under the title A Female Orator and Politician at the Bar! Fairburn also published a satirical poem based on the trial, entitled Miss Mary Ann Ticklewig; Or, Truth No Libel.
Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. New York, Vintage, 1954. 2 vols. (The Henry Reeve text as revised by Francis Bowen and Phillips Bradley) T142
A classic study of American democracy by a French liberal who visited the United States in the 1830s and recorded with great insight and vision his observations of the working of the new democracy. In chapter 11, Liberty of the Press in the United States, Tocqueville examines the strengths and weaknesses of the press; he observes the violent language of the periodicals; he records the attitude of the people toward judicial repression; and he compares the press of America with that of France. Chapter 11 is reprinted in McCormick, Versions of Censorship. pp. 141-45.
To-Day's Cinema News and Property Gazette. London, Cinematograph Exhibitors' Association. 1912-date. Weekly. Title varies. T143
Contains numerous news articles on film censorship in Great Britain and elsewhere, and dossiers of cuttings of such films as Mother (31 January 1930), All Quiet on the Western Front (9 April 1930), and For the Prosecution (24 November 1930).
Toland, John. "Proposal for Regulating ye News-papers." In Hanson, Government and the Press, 1695-1763. Oxford, Eng., Oxford University Press, 1936, pp.135-38. T144 §
About 1717 Toland proposed a measure that would plug the loopholes in the law that now permitted many scandalous and seditious newspapers to evade the tax. This, he said, could be done "without encroaching in the least on the Liberty of the press (which ought to be sacred)." Taken from a manuscript in the British Museum.
-------. Vindicious Liberius: Or, M. Toland's Defence of himself, Against the late Lower House of Convocation, and Others; Wherein (Besides his Letters to the Prolocutor) Certain Passages of the Book, Intitul'd Christianity not Mysterious, are Explain'd, and others Corrected: With a Full and clear Account of the Authors Principles relating to Church and State; and a Justification of the Whigs and Commonwealthsmen, against the Misrepresentations of all their Opposers. . . . London, Bernard Lintott, 1702. 166p. T145
Toland had been accused by the lower house of writing a pernicious and theistical book and a representative was sent to the bishops to advise suppression. The bishops, however, found they were without license to censor and refused to do so.
Tomlinson, H. M. "The Black Shade." Atlantic Monthly, 165:506-12, April 1940. T146
Wartime censorship as seen by a reporter in World War I.
Tomlinson, John D. The International Control of Radio Communications. Ann Arbor, Mich., J. W. Edwards, 1945. 314p. T147
Tompkins, Jerry R., ed. D-Days at Dayton: Reflections on the Scopes Trial. Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana State University, 1965. 189p. T148
Recollections from persons involved in the Dayton, Tenn., "evolution" trial, including Roger Baldwin, H. L. Mencken, Watson Davis, W. C. Curtis, Kirtley Mather, and John T. Scopes himself.
Tompkins, Raymond S. "Dangers Facing the Press." Public Utilities Fortnightly, 34:201-6, 17 August 1944. T149
The author believes there is danger in government control of criticism of foreign governments in the interest of the United States foreign policy.
Tonnsen, John J., Jr. "Scienter Required in Post Office Censorship Proceedings under 18 U.S.C., Par. 1461." Montana Law Review, 24:65-71, Fall 1962. T150
Analysis of a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court that magazines under suit (containing male nudes and seminudes) do not affront the current community standards of decency and hence are not obscene in themselves, Manual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day, 82 Sup. Ct. 1432 (1962). The diverse opinions expressed by the justices makes it difficult to interpret the impact of the decision.
"Too Dangerous for Us to Read." Literary Digest, 54:1413, 12 May 1917. T151
Comments on the ban of the British weekly, Nation.
[Tooke, John Horne]. The Trial (at large) of John Horne . . . for a Libel . . . London, Published by the defendant from Mr. Gurney's shorthand notes, 1777. 69p. (Also in Howell, State Trials, vol. 20, pp. 651 ff.) T152 §
John Horne (later John Horne Tooke) was brought to trial on charge of seditious libel for publishing a criticism of Britain's prosecution of the war with America. As a member of the Constitutional Society, Horne had been responsible for the publication of the Society's resolution for raising funds for the Americans who had been "inhumanly butchered by the king's troops" at Lexington and Concord. Horne was convicted and served three years in prison.
[-------]. The Trial of John Horne Tooke for High Treason at . . . the Old Bailey . . . 1794, Taken in Short-Hand by Joseph Gurney. London, 1795. 2 vols. (Another edition, "reported by a student in the Temple," was published by B. Crosby (152p.) as part 2 of State Trials for High Treason. A two-volume report, "taken in shorthand by J. H. Blanchard," was published by J. S. Jordan) T153
In 1794 Tooke was arrested, along with Thomas Hardy, John Thelwall, and others associated with the constitutional reform societies. The excesses in the French Revolution caused the English government to fear the speech and writings of members of even the most moderate reform groups. Hardy was the first to be tried and was acquitted; the Tooke trial followed. Tooke was defended by Thomas Erskine and Major John Cartwright testified in his behalf. Tooke was acquitted as was John Thelwall whose trial followed. This marked the end of the sedition trials which were widely condemned by the public press.
Toomey, John A. "Some Pages in Our Magazines Should Be Labeled 'Poison.'" America, 66:516-17, 14 February 1942. T154
Torpey, William G. Judicial Doctrines of Religious Rights in America. Chapel Hill, N.C., University of North Carolina Press, 1948. 376p. T155
A useful reference work in locating cases and decisions relating to blasphemy, religious content of public school textbooks, and regulations on distribution of religious literature. The index is not an adequate guide to the book's content.
Torre, Marie. Don't Quote Me. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1965. 254p. T156
The reporter who went to jail to protect a news source in the Judy Garland-C.B.S. dispute, gives an account of the events of this case that ended with a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Toulmin, Joshua. A Review of the Life, Character and Writings of Rev. John Biddle, M.A., who was Banished to the Isle of Scilly, in the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. London, 1789. 186p. T157
Biddle, the "father of Unitarianism" was often persecuted for his doctrinal works.
Tourtellot, Arthur B. "In Defense of the Press." Atlantic Monthly, 174:83-87, August 1944. T158
In a democracy "a free press vindicates the special right guaranteed it in direct proportion to the truth of its news and the honesty of its opinions. . . . The concern of our democracy should be less with the organizational or commercial nature of the press than with its sense of moral responsibility to fulfill its functions." More adequately educated readers are the greatest need of a free press.
"Toward Sense in Censorship." Art News, 50:17, April 1951. T159
Editorial critical of censorship of the films The Miracle and Oliver Twist, but suggesting a federal board or state boards composed of creative artists, writers, educators, and clergymen to advise licensing authorities as to artistic and other values of films. Letters to the editor in the 15 May issue are mostly opposed to such a board.
Tower, Charles H. The Fairness Doctrine. New York, Corinthian Broadcasting Corp., 1963. 13p. T160 §
The executive vice-president of Corinthian Broadcasting, in an address before the Indiana Broadcasters Association, calls the fairness doctrine in broadcasting "highly controversial, time consuming, awkward and aggravating for both the regulator and regulatee."
[Towers, Joseph]. An Enquiry into the Question, Whether Juries are, or are not, Judges of Law, as well as of Fact; With a particular Reference to the case of Libels. . . . London, Printed for J. Wilkie, 1764. 31p. T161
-------. Observations on the Rights and Duty of Juries in Trials for Libels; Together with Remarks on the Origin and Nature of the Law of Libels. London, J. Debrett, 1784. 147p. (Reprinted in Towers, Tracts on Political and Other Subjects. London, Cadell and Davies, 1796, vol. 2, pp. 1-174) T162
Towers' work reflects the liberal views of Thomas Erskine--that juries should take into consideration the law as well as the facts in libel suits.
-------. Remarks on the Conduct, Principles, and Publications, of the Association at the Crown and Anchor, in the Strand, for preserving Liberty and Property against Republicans and Levellers. . . . London, 1793. 52p. (Reprinted in Towers, Tracts on Political and Other Subjects. London, Cadell and Davies, 1796, vol. 3, pp. 247-98) T163
An account of the Association for Preserving Liberty and Property, against Republicans and Levellers, established in London in 1792 during the hysteria over the French Revolution. The object of the Society and its branches was "to check the circulation of seditious publications of all kinds, whether newspapers or pamphlets, or the invitations to club-meetings, by discovering and bringing them to justice, not only the authors of them, but those who kept them in shops, or hawked them in the streets for sale; or, what was much worse, were employed in circulating them from house to house in any manner whatever." Towers denounces the Society as a dangerous threat to the freedom of the English people. "Under the pretence of maintaining and preserving the constitution, their conduct and publications are in direct opposition to its genuine principles. . . . The period is not far distant, when even the lowest of the vulgar will discern, that depriving men of the freedom of the press, and of the freedom of speech, is not maintaining liberty and the constitution."
Townsend, Charles C. "English Law Governing the Right of Criticism and Fair Comment." American Law Register, 30 (n.s.):517-55, 1891. T164
Townsend, William C. Modern State Trials. London, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850. 2 vols. T165
Vol. 1 includes the trial of John Frost; vol. 2 includes the trial of John Ambrose Williams for a libel on the Durham clergy, 1822, and the trial of Edward Moxon for blasphemy in publishing Shelley's Queen Mab, 1841.
[Townshend, Charles]. A Defence of the Minority in the House of Commons, on the Question Relating to General Warrants. London, Printed for J. Almon, 1764. 38p. (Reprinted in A Collection of Scarce and Interesting Tracts . . ., vol. 1, pp. 50-73) T166
As an outgrowth of the seizure of the papers of John Wilkes under a general warrant issued by Lord Halifax, the Whigs in the House of Commons introduced a measure to prohibit the use of the general warrant for seizing authors, printers, publishers of seditious libels, and their papers. The measure was defeated. Townshend, although no supporter of Wilkes, defends the efforts of the Whigs (the minority) to outlaw the general warrant. Among the cases cited is that of the House of Commons in 1680, censuring Lord Chief Justice Scroggs for such use of warrants.
[Townshend, George F., plaintiff]. Crimination and Recrimination. . . . London, A. Macpherson, 1809. 41p. T167
Townshend, Earl of Leicester, sued the Morning Herald for an alleged libel in that paper, authorship unacknowledged. The jury found for the plaintiff.
Townshend, John. A Treatise on the Wrongs Called Slander and Libel, and on the Remedy by Civil Action for those Wrongs, together with a Chapter on Malicious Prosecution. 4th ed. New York, Baker, Voorhis & Co., 1890. 848p. T168
Swindler describes this work as the "first American treatise on libel law and leading authority on the subject in the United States in the nineteenth century." First published in 1868.
Tozer, Basil. "The Coming Censorship of Fiction." National Review, 51:236-42, April 1908. (Reprinted in Living Age, 2 May 1908) T169
The alarming increase in fleshpot novels brings with it the danger of a censorship of fiction comparable to the English censorship of plays. Tozer criticizes authors, publishers, and booksellers for prostituting the English novel and thereby imperiling their own future. An editorial in Current Literature, June 1908, quotes the New York Evening Post in disagreement with Tozer. Indecent novels says the editorial, are merely the result of poor authors unsuccessfully copying good authors. Their work will be eliminated by time and not by censorship.
[Trachtenberg, Alexander]. Books on Trial; The Case of Alexander Trachtenberg, Director, International Publishers. [New York, International Publishers], 1952. 23p. T170
Together with 15 others, Trachtenberg was indicted under the Smith Act for conspiring "to advocate and teach" the principles of Marxism-Leninism and for publishing and circulating books "advocating the principles of Marxism-Leninism." Some 40 titles issued by International Publishers are mentioned. The pamphlet deals with the story of the man, the publishing company, and the issue of a free press. A biography of Trachtenberg on the occasion of the trial appeared in the October 1952 issue of Masses & Mainstream.
-------. ed. "Labor in the War." In The American Labor Year Book, 1919-1920. New York, Rand School of Social Science, 1920, pp. 7-140. T171 §
This general summary of American labor in World War I, edited by Alexander Trachtenberg, includes a section on wartime restrictions on freedom of speech, press, and assemblage. Roger Baldwin has written the account of postal censorship, including a listing of cases; Floyd Dell has an article on the trial of The Masses; Harry Weinberger has an article on the trial of Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman for articles in Mother Earth and The Blast; and Walter Nelles and William E. Williams have articles on the trial of Scott Nearing for his pamphlet, The Great Madness.
Tracy, Robert. "Literature and Obscenity." Christian Century, 82:769-72, 16 June 1965. T172
"For a literary critic the question is not 'Is it shocking or disgusting?' but 'Is it relevant?'"
Trapnell, H. C. "The Indian Press Prosecutions." Law Quarterly Review, 14:72-91, January 1898. T173
Summary of Indian press laws from the British point of view. While court action was sometimes harsh, the legislation was intended to promote press freedom as well as to curb incitement to disaffection.
Traubel, Horace L. "Freedom to Write and to Print." Poet-Lore, 2:529-31, October 1890. T174
An impassioned appeal for freedom of literary expression prompted by the Post Office ban on Tolstoi's Kreutzer Sonata. "Take from literature its freedom, and it is a disgraceful rag. . . . Take from literary journalism its capacity to resent the dictation of official hypocrisy or public bigotry, and it is a bloodless skeleton, valueless as a force, and useful only in museums of the last resort. . . . With Tolstoi in danger, who is exempt?"
Treason Arraigned in Answer to Plain English; Being a Trayterous and Phanatique Pamphlet which Was Condemned by the Counsel of State, Suppressed by Authority; and the Printer Declared against by Proclamation. It is Directed to the Lord General Monck, and Officers of His Army. London, 1660. 31p. T175
"Treason Scented by Suffragettes." Literary Digest, 52:166-68, 22 January 1916. T176
Deals with the suppression of an issue of Britannia, organ of the Women's Social and Political Union that dropped their suffragette campaign during World War I in favor of service to their country. The issue had accused Sir Edward Grey and Mr. Asquith in the English government of being pro-German.
Trebbel, John. "Journalism: Public Enlightenment or Private Interest." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 363:79-86, January 1966. T177
"Journalism in America occupies a unique position because it is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution, which by implication gives it a public responsibility. The dilemma of the publisher, however, is that he is also a private businessman who must make a profit to survive, and in the conflict between public enlightenment and private interest, he is found too often on the side of the conservative business interests which sustain his newspaper and whose viewpoints he usually shares. Advertising and public relations have come to dominate the output of the press in many respects. In government, newspapers have become particularly the willing partners of the image-makers. Advertising dominates the magazine business even more completely, while broadcasting has government regulation to contend with as well. In sum, the public interest and the responsibility of the media have been the victims of economic pressures which have made the private interest paramount. In spite of some advances, the outlook is not hopeful."
Treble, J. F. "Federal Radio Commission--Censorship--Broadcast of Information Concerning Lotteries--Application of Sec. 237 of the Federal Criminal Code to Such Broadcasts." Air Law Review, 2:256-60, April 1931. T178
Tree, Viola. "Censorship of Stage Plays; Another Point of View." Nineteenth Century, 67:164-72, January 1910. T179
Commentary on the present discussion of stage censorship, including the opinions of leading writers, producers, and statesmen. The author praises the report of the Joint Committee and approves amending the present law on stage censorship to permit alternate procedures. The producer could elect to have his play precensored ("The present nursing policy") or produce the play without license, but at the risk of subsequent prosecution. This proposal is the first step toward the realization of the ideal state where no censorship is needed. The author suggests, along with Israel Zangwell, that someone write a play with the censor as the chief character.
Treloar, William P. "The North Briton, No. 45." In Wilkes and the City. London, John Murray, 1917, pp. 13-41. T180 §
An account of the suppression of the objectionable issue of Wilkes's paper and action taken against the publisher.
[Trenchard, John, and Thomas Gordon]. Cato's Letters: or, Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious. London, Printed for W. Wilkins, T. Woodward, J. Walthoe, and J. Peele, 1723-24. 4 vols. T181
Beginning in November 1720 two English journalists, John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, writing under the pseudonym "Cato," produced a series of essays which were first published in the London Journal. The letters represent popular expression of the libertarian theory of a free press in the eighteenth century. Cato's letters were widely quoted on both sides of the Atlantic, and were printed by Benjamin Franklin at the time of his brother's imprisonment. Cato's thoughts were well ahead of the times. He believes that suppression of the press is a greater threat to the state than the evils it attempts to suppress. Without freedom of the press there can be "neither Liberty, Property, true Religion, Arts, Sciences, Learning, or Knowledge." He criticizes the existing laws of seditious libel, believing that truth should be offered as a defense, an idea introduced in the Zenger case in 1735. Publication of so-called libels, if true, has a salutory effect on government affairs because they check the behavior of public officials. Most so-called libels, he believes, are not worthy of serious attention; they should be ignored or laughed at. The Cato letters, some 158 in all, continued through the year 1723; they were from time to time gathered into collections and at least 7 such groups of the letters were published. In 1723-24 most of the letters were brought together in a 4-volume work with a dedication by Mr. Trenchard and an unsigned preface.
Trent, W. P. "Some Remarks on Modern Book-Burning." In his Greatness in Literature, New York, Crowell, 1905, pp. 185-218. T182
In a talk before the English Club at Amherst College, 27 April 1905, the author discusses modern intolerance of heterodox ideas, developing his theme around the burning of James A. Froude's The Nemesis of Faith by a lecturer at Exeter College in 1849.
"Trial by Newspaper." Fordham Law Review, 33:61-76, October 1964. T183
"The enactment of a statute which would deter all those responsible from continuing to deprive the accused of his right to a fair trial is the only effective answer to the question of what can be done to free the defendant from the prejudiced effects of 'trial by newspaper.'"
"Trial by Newspaper: The Supreme Court Rebukes the Press." Nieman Reports, 15(3):3-4, July 1961. T184
Text of statements of Justices Clark and Frankfurter (in Irvin v. Dowd) relating to inflammatory pretrial newspaper publicity in a murder trial.
Tribune Association, New York. The Law of Libel. What Every Tribune Employee Is Expected to Know About It. How to Guard against Libel Suits and How to Be Prepared to Defend Them When Brought. [New York]. The Tribune Association, 1885. l0p. T185
"Tributes to the Ideal of Freedom of Expression." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 200:292-306, November 1938. T186 §
Includes statements from Plato, Peter Wentworth, John Milton, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Walter Bagehot, William E. Channing, Calvin Coolidge, E. R. A. Seligman, Charles E. Hughes, Charles H. Cooley, Everett D. Martin, J. B. Bury, Henry Ward Beecher, Wendell Phillips, J. G. Schurman, A. Lawrence Lowell, Thomas S. Gates, James Conant, Robert M. Hutchins, Robert G. Sproul, Frank Aydelotte, Abraham Flexner, Campbell West-Watson, Edwin G. Conklin, and Justices Brewer, Harlan, Holmes, Brandeis, and Hughes.
[Triggs, Oscar L.]. "Libel: Unjustifiable Criticism." In American Newspaper Publishers Association Bulletin, 1215:397-406, 4 October 1904. T187
A colorful libel case involving literary criticism. Professor Oscar L. Triggs of the University of Chicago sued the Sun Printing and Publishing Co. for ridiculing his literary criticism and attacking him as a "presumptuous literary freak." Triggs had been critical of Longfellow and Whittier. The Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision for the paper, finding that the paper had exceeded the privilege of reasonable literary criticism. The Bulletin gives the text of the decision and reprints the offending articles and editorial comment on the decision.
Troper, R. E. "The U.N. Is Strangling the Free Press!" American Mercury, 89:3-18, November 1959. (Reprinted by the National Defense Committee of the DAR) T188
The author maintains that the Soviet Union has "quietly, slowly but surely taken over the strategic areas of press, radio and television at the United Nations." He charges censorship and interference in the preparation of UN documents and news reports and cites difficulties created for outside reporters who may be critical of the UN.
"Tropic of Cancer Banned as Obscene in N.Y. State." Publishers' Weekly, 184:25-26, 22 July 1963. T189
A report of the 4 to 3 decision of the New York State Court of Appeals (New York's highest court) reversing a lower court ruling and finding Henry Miller's book obscene under the state's antiobscenity law.
"Tropic of Cancer before the U.S. Supreme Court." ALA Bulletin, 58:291-98, April 1964. T190 §
The abridged text of the American Library Association's amicus curiae brief in the Tropic of Cancer case (Smith v. California) before the U.S. Supreme Court. The brief is introduced by a background statement by Archie L. McNeal, chairman of the ALA Committee on Intellectual Freedom.
"Tropics of Book Selection: Two Censorship Attempts in Pennsylvania." Pennsylvania Library Association Bulletin, 18:17-18, May 1963. T191
Relates to two titles: Robert Heinlein's Starman Jones and Nikos Kazantzakis' The Last Temptation of Christ.
True Briton. London, Nos. 1-74, 3 June 1723-17 February 1724. Semiweekly. T192
The organ of the outspoken Duke of Wharton, who wrote most of its articles. Almost every issue evoked a warrant for its criticism of the government and there were frequent references to freedom of the press. The Duke hoped to be arrested so that he might plead his case in court, but the government instead took action against the printers, Sharpe and Payne. The paper folded in February 1724 after Payne was fined £3,000. This paper is not to be confused with a later True Briton, established in 1794 with subsidies from the Pitt government, and which supported the state sedition trials.
[Truelove, Edward]. In the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, February 1, 1878. The Queen v. Edward Truelove for Publishing the Hon. Robert Dale Owen's "Moral Physiology," and a Pamphlet, Entitled "Individual, Family, and National Poverty." London, Edward Truelove, 1878. 125p. T193
Two years after Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh had been acquitted of obscenity charges for republishing an 1833 pamphlet on birth control, Edward Truelove was brought to trial for republishing Robert Dale Owen's 1830 treatise on family limitation. The jury failed to agree on a verdict. The argument of prosecutor and defense counsel and the summing up by Lord Chief Justice Cockburn present a good picture of the prevailing thoughts on birth control literature in nineteenth-century England.
Trumbo, Dalton. The Devil in the Book. Los Angeles, Emergency Defense Committee, 1956. 42p. T194
The author, in support of the 14 persons convicted as Communists under the Smith Act (Alien Registration Act of 1940), argues that the defendants were prosecuted because of the books they read.
Trumbull, Charles G. Anthony Comstock, Fighter; Some Impressions of a Lifetime of Adventure in Conflict with the Powers of Evil. New York, Revell, 1913. 240p. T195
A eulogistic biography of the founder of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and the national leader of the crusade against obscene and immodest literature. The author describes the organizing of the vice society and relates many of the cases in which Comstock appeared over a period of 40 years.
"Truth is Forbidden--Censorship in Chicago." New Theatre, 3(6):16, 17, 22, May 1934. T196
Truth Seeker; a Magazine for Freethinkers. New York, 1873-1919. Monthly, semimonthly, weekly. T197
Founded by D. M. Bennett in Paris, Ill., as a monthly journal "devoted to science, morals, free thought, free inquiry and the diffusion of liberal sentiments." With vol. 1, no. 4, December 1873, the publication was moved to New York, where it remained. Over the years The Truth Seeker changed from monthly, to semimonthly, to weekly frequency. With Bennett's death in 1882, E. M. Macdonald became editor and served until 1909. He was succeeded by George E. Hussey. To the original purpose was added: "sexual equality, labor reform, and free education." In 1909 Theodore A. Schroeder said of the Truth Seeker, "A quarter of a century ago this paper pioneered the opposition against the abridgment of sex-discussion." An editorial in the issue of 16 March 1918 relates to the suppression of the Truth Seeker by the U.S. Army.
Truth Seeker Annual and Freethinkers Almanac. New York, Truth Seeker Office, 1884-88. Annually. T198 §
The 1884 annual has a section on the National Liberal League, an organization dedicated to opposition to the Comstock laws. The 1885 annual reports on the activities of the League and contains a memorial to D. M. Bennett, founder of the Truth Seeker (photograph of Bennett on p. 29). The 1887 annual has an article on Sunday Oaths and Blasphemy Laws and includes the text of state blasphemy laws. The 1888 annual carries an account of the Reynolds blasphemy case in which Robert G. Ingersoll served as defense attorney.
Tucker, St. George. "Of the Right of Conscience; and of the Freedom of Speech and of the Press." In Blackstone's Commentaries . . . Edited by St. George Tucker Philadelphia, Birch and Small, 1803. Appendix to vol. 1, pt. 2, Note G, pp. 1-30. (Reprinted in Schroeder, Constitutional Free Speech, pp. 122-49, and with commentary in Levy, Freedom of the Press from Zenger to Jefferson, pp. 317-26) T199
This distinguished American law professor edited Blackstone in light of American concepts of intellectual liberty and freedom of the press, reflecting the opinions of Jefferson and those adopted by the Commonwealth of Virginia. In his extensive Note G, Tucker discusses the development of freedom of the press in England and the new American nation, with its Bill of Rights and its recent experience with the Sedition Act. He discusses the latter in detail--the debates over the Act, its operation, the persecutions, and the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions. "Liberty of speech and of discussion in all speculative matters," writes Tucker, "consists in the absolute and uncontrollable right of speaking, writing, and publishing our opinions concerning any subject, whether religious, philosophical, or political; and of inquiring into and examining the nature of truth, whether moral or metaphysical; the expediency or inexpediency of all public measures, with their tendency and probable effect; the conduct of public men, and generally every other subject, without restraint, except as to the injury of any other individual, in his person, property, or good name."
Tugman, W. M. "The People's Right to Know." State Government, 27:225-26, November 1954. T200
Reviews briefly the main causes for concern with secrecy in government and suggests ways for developing better understanding and mutual confidence between the press and public officials, with both recognizing their responsibilities to the public.
Tumpane, Frank. "I'm in Favor of Censorship." Maclean's Magazine, 69:4, 83-84, 24 November 1956. T201
An attack on the anticensorship zealots who either (1) believe anybody should have the right to read anything he wishes, or (2) who dislike pornography but believe that it is better to suffer smut than to risk banning what might turn out to be tomorrow's literary masterpiece. To protect a Ulysses you don't have to protect pornography. The author defends action of pressure groups including boycotts as proper democratic expressions.
[Tunbridge, William]. A Report of the Proceedings, in the Mock Trial . . . against William Tunbridge, for the Publication of a Book Called "Palmer's Principles of Nature," as an alleged blasphemous libel upon the Christian Religion, and the Holy Scriptures . . . before a Packed Jury and Lord Chief Justice Abbott . . . to which is added the whole of the suppressed part, of the Defendant's Defence . . . London, R. Carlile, 1823. 160p. (Also in Macdonell, Report of State Trials, vol. 6, p. 515) T202
Tunbridge was one of Carlile's volunteer shopmen, brought to trial through efforts of the Society for the Suppression of Vice. He was given two years' imprisonment.
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