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[-------]. Some Observations on the Late Determination for Discharging Mr. Wilkes from his Commitment to the Tower of London; for being the Author and Publisher of a Seditious Libel, called the North Briton, Number XLV. By a Member of the House of Commons. London, Sold by A. Millar, 1763. 114p. W102 §
Weber, Francis J. "John J. Cantwell and the Legion of Decency." American Ecclesiastical Review, 151:237-47, October 1964. W103
An account of the part played by Bishop Cantwell in the formative years of the Legion of Decency, the first nationwide attempt by the Catholic Church "to discipline, according to Catholic moral standards," the nation's film industry.
Webster, Daniel. ["A Free Press"]. In his Works. Boston, Little, Brown, 1890. vol. 1, pp. 263-66. W104 §
In a speech delivered before the National Republican Convention at Worchester, Mass., 12 October 1832, Webster decries the "open attempt to secure the aid and friendship of the public press, by bestowing emoluments of office on its active conductors" as a threat against the freedom of the press, turning "the palladium of liberty into an engine of party." In a speech on the Constitution and the Union, delivered in the U.S. Senate, 7 March 1850, Webster discusses (pp. 358-59) complaints from Southerners against the Northern press: "The press violent! Why, sir, the press is violent everywhere. . . . They think that he who talks loudest reasons the best. And this we must expect when the press is free, as it is here--and I trust always will be--for, with all its licentiousness and all its evil, the entire and absolute freedom of the press is essential to the preservation of government on the basis of a free Constitution. Wherever it exists there will be foolish paragraphs and violent paragraphs in the press, as there are, I am sorry to say, foolish speeches and violent speeches in both Houses of Congress."
-------. "Freedom of the Mails." In M. M. Miller, ed., Great American Debates. New York, Current Literature Publishing Co., 1913. vol. 4, pp. 129-30. W105 §
Senator Webster opposed the bill, introduced into the U.S. Senate by Calhoun, to prohibit the Post Office from accepting publications critical of slavery. Webster charges that the wording of the bill is vague and obscure and that, should it pass, even the Constitution of the United States might be prohibited. The bill is in conflict with the First Amendment of the Constitution prohibiting the abridgment of the freedom of speech and press. The circulation of papers through the mails, he maintains, constitutes an ordinary mode of publication. Furthermore, no paper should be pronounced unlawful without a legal trial.
Wedderburn, Robert. The Address of the Rev. R. Wedderburn, to the Court of King's Bench at Westminster, on appearing to receive Judgment for Blasphemy, when he was sentenced to Two Years Imprisonment in Dorchester Jail. . . . Edited by Erasmus Perkins. London, T. Davison, [1820]. 15p. W106
[-------]. The Trial of the Rev. Robt. Wedderburn, (A Dissenting Minister of the Unitarian Persuasion) for Blasphemy. . . . Edited by Erasmus Perkins. London, Printed for the editor and sold by Mrs. Carlile, 1820. 23p. W107
The defendant, who claimed to be the offspring of a female slave by a Scotsman, was sentenced to two years in prison for a "blasphemous" talk he made in Hopkins Street Chapel in Soho, commenting on the trial of Richard Carlile. His subject was: "Whether the refusal of the Chief Justice to allow Mr. Carlile to read the Bible in his defense, was to be attributed to the sincere respect he had for the sacred writings, or to a fear lest the absurdities it contained should be exposed?"
[Weed, Thurlow]. The Great Libel Case. Geo. Opdyke Agt. Thurlow Weed. A Full Report of the Speeches of Counsel, Testimony, etc. New York, American News, 1865. 156p. W108
Thurlow Weed was sued for libel for articles appearing in his Albany Evening Journal, accusing George Opdyke, prominent civic leader and politician, of fraudulent dealings in Army contracts. The jury could not agree and Mr. Weed was freed of the charge.
[-------]. The Opdyke Libel Suit. A Full Metrical, Juridical, and Analytical Report of the Extraordinary Suit for Libel of George Opdyke "Versus" Thurlow Weed . . . in the New York Supreme Court Circuit, before Judge Charles Mason . . . By a Full Corps de Bully, Short and Long Metre Reporters. New York, 1865. 62p. W109
A satirical poem on the Opdyke-Weed libel suit together with excerpts from newspaper opinion on the trial.
Weeks, Edward. "The American Public Trusts the Bookseller." Publishers' Weekly, 163:2384-86, 6 June 1953. (Reprinted in Daniels, The Censorship of Books, pp. 74-76) W110 §
The editor of the Atlantic Monthly, in an address to the convention of the American Booksellers' Association, deals with the position of the bookseller in the fight against the current wave of book censorship.
-------. "The Practice of Censorship." Atlantic Monthly, 145:17-25, January 1930. W111
A review of recent censorship in Boston and Massachusetts written by the editor of the Atlantic Monthly who was serving on a committee to reform Massachusetts laws relating to obscene literature. Weeks shows how English and American book censorship laws were derived from statutes originally framed as a protection against deliberate pornography.
-------. "Sex and Censorship." In his This Trade of Writing. Boston, Little, Brown, 1935, pp. 126-47. (Reprinted in Downs, The First Freedom, pp. 162-67; also in W. Bower, ed., New Directions, pp. 346-57) W112 §
Standards of morality change over the years so that literature that is deemed indecent in one generation may become a classic in another. Writers 50 years ago adhered to the "closed-door policy" in sex expression; today many writers have pushed the door wide open. Weeks describes censorship in Boston in recent years and the efforts to change the Massachusetts obscenity law to embrace the principles laid down by Judge Woolsey in the Ulysses case, a test of obscenity which Weeks endorses.
Weems, John E., et al. "Talking Back to the Censors." Southwestern Review, 47:201-19, Summer 1962. W113 §
John Weems of the University of Texas Press introduces a group of statements in opposition to textbook censorship from five members of the Texas Institute of Letters, who appeared in January 1962 as witnesses before an investigating committee of the Texas House of Representatives: J. Frank Dobie (dean of Texas writers), Lon Tinkle (book critic), Ernest Mossner (English professor), Frank Wardlow (director of the University of Texas Press), and Joseph Dawson (retired Baptist minister). Also included are statements by Frank E. Vandiver (president of the Institute), which were read at the hearing; a statement from Professor Paul F. Boller, Jr., whose history textbook was under attack; and resolutions condemning textbook censorship passed by the American Studies Association of Texas and the Texas Library Association. The editor of Southwestern Review notes that "the 1961-62 hearings of the Texas Legislature's five-man Textbook Investigating Committee ended in confusion and futility on June 25, 1962, when the committee terminated its own existence by a 4-1 vote."
-------. "Textbooks under Fire." Publishers' Weekly, 180:22-24, 2 October 1961; 180:21, 23 October 1961; 181:43-45, 19 February 1962. W114
An account of political censorship of textbooks in Texas.
Wei, Michael. UN FOI Draft Convention. Columbia, Mo., Freedom of Information Center, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 1962. 33p. (Publication no. 85) W115 §
This monograph traces the development of the draft convention on freedom of information in the United Nations from the argued proposals at the conference held in Geneva in 1948 to the present, showing the difficulties rising out of the different concepts and interpretations of "freedom of information" held by member nations. The 4 articles (out of 19) already adopted varied considerably from that originally prepared in Geneva, and were regarded by western journalists as curtailing freedom of information. Text and chronology of events are given along with a bibliography
Weil, Gilbert H. Legal Rules of the Road to Honest Advertising. New York, Association of National Advertisers, 1960. 19p. W116
The general counsel for the Association of National Advertisers presents the basic concepts for self-appraisal of honesty in advertising, regardless of rules of an enforcing agency. "An advertisement is honest when objective facts which bear upon the product or service advertised fulfill in all material respects the understanding regarding them that is generated in people by the advertisement when observed in the way or ways that they normally perceive it."
Weinberger, Harry. Clarion Call. A Free Press Play in One Act. New York, Dramatic Play Service, 1941. 23p. W117
The John Peter Zenger story. The play received honorable mention in the 1939 one-act play contest conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union.
-------. The First Casualties in War. Washington, D.C., American Union against Militarism, [1917]. 7p. (Reprinted from the New York Evening Post, 10 April 1917) W118
Freedom of the press is among the first casualties of war.
-------. "Free Speech and Free Press." Fra, 18:130-31, January 1917. (Also published separately by the author) W119
"Governmental authorities, majorities, the newspapers do not understand that all criticism should be expressed, for expression itself is a form of relief to those who have complaints to make." The author quotes such writers as Milton, Jefferson, and Phillips on a free press.
-------. The Liberty of the Press; Two Addresses. Berkeley Heights, N.J., Oriole Press, 1934. 40p. (Includes reproductions of three records from Zenger's trial) W120
The addresses commemorate the public service of Andrew Hamilton, the attorney who defended John Peter Zenger in the celebrated libel trial and whose defense has become a classic. The addresses were delivered to the Philadelphia and New York bar associations on the 200th anniversary of Zenger's arrest. Weinberger is a New York lawyer, prominent in civil liberties cases. The volume was printed by Joseph Ishill in an edition of 565 copies.
-------. "Reitman and Rochester." Mother Earth, 12:44-46, April 1917. W121 §
The trial and acquittal of Benjamin Reitman at Rochester, N.Y., on charge of giving birth control information.
Weisberger, Bernard A. "Keeping the Free Press Free: Who Watches the Watchmen?" Antioch Review, 13:329-40 September 1953. W122
A study of the problems involved in maintaining a free press, including the need for vigorous self-criticism.
Weiss, Lawrence G. "Goldwater and Colorado U." Nation, 195:402-4, 8 December 1963. W123
Discussion of the episode of the dismissal of the editor of the Colorado Daily for that paper's articles on Senator Goldwater.
Weker, Meyer. "The Power to Exclude from the Mails." Boston University Law Review, 10:346-50, June 1930. W124
A review of court decisions which established the power of the postmaster general to censor the mail. This power "to determine what matter is non-mailable under the several acts of Congress is not an unconstitutional power."
Welbourn, Donald J. "Censorship and the Law in Canada." Saskatchewan Bar Review, 24:29-37, June 1959. W125
Welch, Colin. "Black Magic, White Lies." Encounter, 16(2):75-79, February 1961. W126
An attack on Lady Chatterley's Lover and criticism of the defense of the work at the recent Penguin Books trial. Welch considers the work "not about love and marriage but the worship of the phallus." "It is unlikely to corrupt anyone who reads it with as little attention and understanding as that displayed by most of those who spoke up on its behalf at the trial . . . The people it is most likely to corrupt are those few who are going to read it 'for the right reasons,' the earnest ones who will read it carefully with sympathy and respect." Comments on Welch's article by Rebecca West, William Emrys Williams, Richard Hoggart, and Martin Jarrett-Kerr appear in the March 1961 issue of Encounter.
Welch, Francis X. "Who Will Regulate Radio Broadcasting and How?" Public Utilities Fortnightly, 3:90-99, 24 January 1929. (Reprinted in Buehler, American vs. British System of Radio Control, pp. 135-50) W127
Welch, Robert. "Censorship and Political Ideology." Yale Political, 3(1):14, 30, Autumn 1963. W128
The founder of the John Birch Society explains that the subtle techniques of censorship used by the "Liberal Establishment" are those perfected by Stalin in his purge of Leon Trotsky. These methods are far more dangerous than overt information control.
Welch, Robert G. "The Martin Luther Film." America, 96:698-700, 23 March 1957. W129
A criticism of the film as unfair and designed to perpetuate known falsehoods about the Catholic Church.
Welliver, Judson C. "Divorce Publicity Here and Abroad." Review of Reviews, 75:257-61, March 1927. W130
Discussion of a bill in the New York legislature to curb reporting of divorce proceedings, similar to the restrictions in Great Britain. Such a bill contains an entering wedge of censorship, even though it is "sanitation rather than restriction."
Wellman, Hiller C. "Book Censorship." Library Journal, 69:507-8, 1 June 1944. (Reprinted from the Springfield Republican, 2 April 1944) W131
The librarian of the Springfield (Mass.) city library disapproves of the present censorship in Massachusetts. He concludes that "probably the least censorship of serious literature that we can get along with, is best. The real remedies, and in the long run the only effective remedies, are education and public opinion."
-------. "Massachusetts Censorship Law Changed." Library Journal, 70:526, 1 June 1945. W132
A leader in the fight against censorship summarizes the features of the new Massachusetts book bill which provides for action against the book itself rather than the bookseller.
-------, comp. "Free Speech, Obscenity, and Censorship." Massachusetts Library Association Bulletin, 39:49-50, June 1949. W133
An annotated reading list. Interest in the subject, the compiler notes, grows out of "disgust with the lack of restraint in much current fiction, increasing concern regarding the effect of 'comics' on the young, and the consequent rising tide of censorship."
Wellman, Paul I. "The First Freedom." Library Journal, 80:509-13, 1 March 1955. W134
In an address before the Missouri Library Association, the novelist and historian calls for vigilance in support of our first freedom against demagogues and pressure groups. Americans must "recognize what that freedom really is based upon--the right to individual, and original, and even divergent thought, and expression, and written words."
Wenning, Dorothy W. Books Removed from the United States Information Service Libraries: An Analysis and Appraisal. Tallahassee, Florida State University, 1956. 213p. (Unpublished Master's thesis) W135
Werkmeister, Lucyle. The London Daily Press, 1772-1792. Lincoln, Nebr., University of Nebraska Press, 1963. 470p. W136
A history of the British press during two decades of political controversy in England embracing the American and French Revolutions. The period witnessed the John Wilkes affair, the suppression of Parliamentary reporting, and the frequent prosecution of newspapermen and pamphleteers that flourished in the unrest of revolutionary sentiment.
Werne, Benjamin. "Freedom of Speech and Press--Some Recent Restraints." Editor & Publisher, 72:28, 26 August 1939. W137
A labor economist considers recent rulings of the National Labor Relations Board affecting newspaper business activities as a potential threat to the freedom of the press.
-------. "Radio Censorship and Federal Regulation." Editor and Publisher, 72:16, 8 July 1939. W138
A new regulation of the Federal Communications Commission directed at the licensee of an international broadcasting station is considered by the author to extend government interference in program making and broadcasting.
Wertham, Fredric. "The Curse of the Comic Books; the Value Patterns and Effects of Comic Books." Religious Education, 49:394-406, November-December 1954. W139
"The comic book publishers, racketeers of the spirit, have corrupted children in the past, they are corrupting them now, and they will go on corrupting them unless we actively prevent it." The author, a New York psychiatrist, recommends a public health law forbidding the display and sale of comic-book smut and trash to children under 15.
-------. "It's Still Murder; What Parents Still Don't Know About Comic Books." Saturday Review of Literature, 38(15):11-12, 46-48, 9 April 1955. W140
A New York psychiatrist, whose writings on the terror comics helped to bring about the adoption of an industry code, comments on changes under the code: "At present it is far safer for a mother to let her child have a comic book without a seal of approval than one with a seal. If comic books, as the industry claims, are the folklore of today, then the codes are the fables." He calls for legal action.
-------. "Psychiatry and Censorship." American Journal of Psychotherapy, 11:249-53, April 1957. W141
The author charges as antiquated and unscientific both the earlier official attitude of psychiatry embodying a prudish censorship of sexual matters and the present attitude of condemning all legal controls of printed matters.
-------. "Reading for the Innocent." Wilson Library Bulletin, 29:610-13, April 1955. W142
A condemnation of horror comics, along the line of the argument in his book, Seduction of the Innocent.
-------. Seduction of the Innocent. New York, Rinehart, 1954. 400p. W143
A New York psychiatrist finds that many of the so-called "comic books" have a pernicious influence on children. They contribute to illiteracy; they create an atmosphere of cruelty and deceit; they stimulate unwholesome fantasies; they suggest criminal and sexually abnormal ideas; they contribute to moral disarmament. Dr. Wertham urges legislative control based on public health considerations. His shocking exposé contributed to the attempts within the industry to establish a code of ethics and to community campaigns to clean up the newsstands. (Reviewed by Anita L. Mishler in Public Opinion Quarterly, Spring 1955)
Wesberry, James P. "The Case Against Obscenity." Congressional Record, 99(12):A 4650-52, 24 July 1953. W144
The author is chairman of the Georgia State Literature Commission. He sets forth "a comprehensive report of the dangers of obscene literature to the moral standards of our society and the practical and effective means by which this evil may be remedied."
-------. "Georgia Scrubs Its Newsstands." Christian Century, 70:1498-1500, 23 December 1953. W145
The work of the Georgia Literature Commission, "the first state to attempt to deal officially with the problem created by the presence on its newsstands of a plague of pornographic publications."
Wescott, Glenway, et al. "Statements on Censorship Read at Council Meeting, February 3, 1959." In American Academy of Arts and Letters, Proceedings, Second Series, no. 11, pt. 3. New York, The Academy, 1961, pp. 76-80. W146
Statements by Glenway Wescott, Malcolm Cowley, Mark Van Doren, and Robert Penn Warren disapproving literary censorship.
Wessel, Milton R. "Controlling Prejudicial Publicity in Criminal Cases." Journal American Judicature Society, 48:106-9, October 1964. W147
"The Ruby murder trial furnishes a textbook example of the causes and effects of unwarranted prejudicial publicity in criminal cases."
West, Albert. "Shadow on American Justice." ASNE Bulletin, 446:11-14, 1 October 1961. W148
Discussion of "trial by newspaper" in America as compared with British and French coverage of trials. Includes text of the preamble to a code of ethics being developed jointly by the Massachusetts press and bar.
West, Charles R. Fair Comment and Criticism, a Defense in Libel Cases. Austin, Tex., University of Texas, 1935. 166p. (Unpublished Master's thesis) W149
West, Henry L. "Democracy and a Free Press." Bookman, 52:116-21, October 1920. W150
"We want, and always will have a free press, but it must be a press that deserves its freedom through respecting and upholding the principles that make us a free nation."
-------. "The Suppression of Books." Bookman, 51:460-65, June 1920. W151
The author objects to policemen, some librarians, and the paid employees of vice societies passing judgment on what is fit for a community to read. He suggests, instead, a committee selected from among the citizens of the community.
West, James T. "The Present Status of the 'Clear and Present Danger' Test as Applied to Freedom of Speech." Arkansas Law Review, 4:52-60, Winter 1950. W152
West, Mabel G. "Is Censorship a Librarian's Function?" In California Library Association, Handbook and Proceedings, 1923, pp. 51-54. (Publication of the California Library Association, no. 23) W153
It is the librarian's duty "to guard against the introduction of cheap, trashy, sensational books, the reading of which is neither elevating, educational, nor instructional . . . and to establish and maintain a source of information for the public which is reliable and trustworthy."
West, Rebecca, Richard Hoggart, et al. "Chatterley, the Witnesses, and the Law." Encounter, 16(3):52-56, March 1961. W154 §
"Among the contributors to this discussion, Dame Rebecca West, Richard Hoggart, and Sir William Emrys Williams (a director of Penguin Books) were all witnesses for the defence [the British trial of Lady Chatterley's Lover]. The Rev. Martin Jarrett-Kerr, C.R., is a colleague of the Bishop of Woolwich who also testified (and was later reprimanded by the Archbishop of Canterbury)." Largely a response to Colin Welch's attack on Lady Chatterley's Lover, in the February issue.
West, Theresa H. "Improper Books; Methods Employed to Discover and Exclude Them." Library Journal, 20:32, Denver Conference of Librarians, 1895. W155
"Books which speak truth concerning normal, wholesome conditions may be safely bought, however plain-spoken." Others are not bought, and any tabooed books which happen to be purchased are given only to those who definitely ask for them and not to children. Comments of the librarian of the Milwaukee Public Library in one of a series of papers on undesirable books in public libraries.
Westen, Ronald E. "Constitutional Law--Freedom of Speech in Motion Pictures--Doctrine of Prior Restraint." Wayne Law Review, 7:589-96, Summer 1961. W156
Notes on Times Film Corp. v. City of Chicago, 365 U.S. 43(1961) and related cases.
Westerway, Peter B., and J. de Lissa. "O, Victoria!" Censorship, 4:42-44, Autumn 1965. W157 §
Interview with J. de Lissa, editor of Squire magazine, broadcast on Australian television, 19 July 1965. The interview dealt with action of the Victoria (Australia) government censors against illustrations in Squire.
Westin, Alan F. The Miracle Case: The Supreme Court and the Movies. University, Ala., University of Alabama Press, 1961 38p. (Inter-University Case Program, Case Series no. 64) W158
An account of the U.S. Supreme Court case dealing with state censorship of a motion picture entitled The Miracle (Burstyn v. Wilson). "This study raises questions about censorship of motion pictures by government agencies and about the way in which private groups associate themselves with constitutional cases as they progress upward through the courts. It depicts the way in which judges balance values in deciding cases--precedent versus social change, freedom of expression versus community morals, religious freedom versus state enforcement of religious doctrines, and 'subjective' judicial rules versus `objective' standards."
Westmacott, Charles M. The Stamp Duties. Serious Considerations on the Proposed Alteration of the Stamp Duty on Newspapers: Addressed to the Right Honourable Thomas Spring Rice, Chancellor of the Exchequer. London, The Age Office, 1836. 15p. W159
The author opposes abolishing the tax on newspapers on the grounds that it would encourage "a restless band of desperate adventurers" who are motivated by political and mercenary reasons. Instead, he recommends reduction of the duty on paper, which will materially benefit and encourage literature.
Weston, Emily. "Boston's Battle of the Books." Nation, 175: inside cover, 1 November 1952. W160
Account of the two-week battle between the Boston Post and the Public Library over the New World Review, which the editors of the Post discovered in the periodical room. The Post attempted to have it removed and all subversive publications either removed or labeled. The Board of Trustees, although divided, upheld the Library's position.
Wettach, Robert H. "Restrictions on a Free Press." North Carolina Law Review, 4:24-38, February 1926. W161
Special references to legal restrictions and court cases involving the North Carolina press.
Weybright, Victor. "Attack on Books; a Publisher's Analysis." Publishers' Weekly, 163:1511-13, 4 April 1953. (Reprinted in Daniels, The Censorship of Books, pp. 69-72) W162
Excerpts from an address before the Conference on College Composition and Communication, an affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English. The author, chairman of the New American Library of World Literature, defends publishers, particularly paperback and reprint publishers, from attacks by censors.
-------. The Complete and Unabridged Statement to the Gathings Committee by the New American Library of World Information, Inc. [New York, The New American Library, 1952]. 44p. W163
The statement of the chairman of the board of New American Library which he was not permitted to make before the House of Representatives Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials. Weybright recommends punishment of obscenity under present statutes rather than special regulation directed against the paperbacks. He likewise objects to the imposition of any sort of industry code, favoring the self-restraint of individual publishers. An appendix includes a complete list of the Signet and Mentor books and "our commentary on each of the titles which your counsel selected to enter into the record as evidence of alleged pornographic material."
Wharton, Don. "The Battle against Mail-Order Pornography." Reader's Digest, 84(502):147-54, February 1964. W164
An account of the Post Office Department's all-out effort to prosecute under the criminal laws dealers in hard-core pornography who use the mails to distribute their wares.
Wharton, Francis. "'Obscene' Indictments." In his "Disputed Questions of Criminal Law." Southern Law Review, 4 (n.s.):252-61, June 1878. W165
Involves the practice of setting out an allegedly "obscene" document in the indictment. The author concludes that the law does not require a document which is the basis of a prosecution to be set out in the indictment, when there is sufficient reason given in the indictment to excuse the omission.
-------. State Trials of the United States during the Administrations of Washington and Adams. With References, Historical and Professional, and Preliminary Notes on the Politics of the Times . . . Philadelphia, Carey and Hart, 1849. 727p. W166
Summaries of libel trials against William Cobbett, Matthew Lyon, David Frothingham, Thomas Cooper, Anthony Haswell, and James W. Callender.
"What Constitutes Obscene Literature?" Human Fertility, 10:122-25, December 1945. W167
A publication of the Research Bureau, New York Birth Control Clinic.
"What Is a Free Press and What Are Its Perils? Ten Views." Newsweek, 37:50-51, 30 April 1951. W168
Newsweek asked ten journalists to answer two questions: (1) In these days of ideological warfare, both at home and abroad, what do you consider the chief responsibility of a free press? (2) Do you see any specific threats to a free press in this country? The journalists are: Hugh Baillie, Frank Starzel, Seymour Berkson, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, Walter Winchell, George Sokolsky, Ray Tucker, Robert R. McCormick, Helen Rogers Reid, and Dorothy Thompson.
"What Is Free Speech under the Constitution?: A Debate between Sveinbjorn Johnson and the American Civil Liberties Union." Illinois Law Review, 19:124-47, November 1924. W169
A series of letters between the Attorney General of North Dakota and Roger N. Baldwin of the American Civil Liberties Union. The Attorney General urged consideration of measures by the state legislature to suppress sabotage activities of the I.W.W. and other revolutionary organizations. Mr. Baldwin asserted that such legislation interfered with the right of free speech.
"What of the Destiny of Books?" Medical Library Association Bulletin, 30:93-94, January 1942. W170
"Today, suppression of books in general and of medical books in particular is still a lawful procedure in many countries, democratic and totalitarian."
"What Others Think of Censorship." Wilson [Library] Bulletin, 2:311-13, November 1924. W171
Comments on censorship by Arthur E. Bostwick, Corinne Bacon, Mary V. Rothrock, and Willard Huntington Wright.
"What Sense Censorship?" Time, 39:58-60, 22 June 1942. (Reprinted in Summers, Wartime Censorship, pp. 188-90) W172 §
Criticism of the application of the government's wartime censorship policy, citing four incidents of debatable restrictions on the press.
"What Shall Librarians Do About Bad Books--Contributed by Various American Librarians." Library Journal, 33:349-54, September 1908; 33:390-93, October 1908. W173
Thirteen statements from public librarians concerning the handling of "literature of immoral or unwholesome character." Reports how such books are treated in libraries and offers suggestions for treatment in bookstores or the press.
[Whately, Richard]. Considerations on the Law of Libel, as Related to Publications on the Subject of Religion. By John Search [pseud.]. London, 1833. 86p. W174
The author, Archbishop of Dublin, is critical of the law of libel in which "any writing whatever, which shall tend to impeach the evidence of the Christian faith, or in any manner to impugne Christianity as a whole, is indictable as a blasphemous libel, and punishable as such by fine and imprisonment, or other infamous corporal punishment." Christianity should be maintained, he argues, by its supporters on the grounds of its truth and not by force of law. The pamphlet is favorably reviewed in the January 1834 issue of Edinburgh Review.
Wheatley, C. S., Jr. "Some Legal Aspects of Birth Control." Law Notes, 36:45-47, October 1932. W175
"The legal status of birth control is by no means clear. The confusion in this regard is probably as much of an obstacle to the movement as the restrictive and prohibitory legislation itself."
Whelan, Charles M. "Censorship and the Constitutional Concept of Morality." Georgetown Law Review, 43:547-81, June 1955. W176
The author considers cultural and religious pluralism in America, which accounts for a multitude of moral codes governing the citizenry. "In the exercise of their undoubted power to preserve the public morals, the states must be mindful that the content of this concept is determined by those standards which are generally and currently accepted throughout their communities. As long as publication of all types stop short of inciting violations of the existing laws which express the considered moral judgment of society, the public should be free to see, consider and decide on the wisdom and propriety of innovations for itself. If this liberty involves the risk of temptation, it is also the price of maturity in morals and progress in civic virtue."
Whelan, Russell. "The Legion of Decency." American Mercury, 60:655-63, June 1945; Discussion, 61:246, 380, 507, 636, August-November, 1945. W177
A history and discussion of the work of the Catholic organization, Legion of Decency, which exerts pressures on the moral content of movies. "With such acknowledged power the Legion can almost dictate what we shall not see in our movie theaters. This is clearly minority rule over mass entertainment in America." The discussion consists largely of letters in support of the Legion.
"When Annie Oakley 'Shot the Papers.'" Frontier Times, 27:52-55, November 1949. W178
Deals with the libel suit filed by the famous marksman of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, against newspapers that confused her with a drug addict of the same name.
"When Is a Nude?" Art Digest, 13:56 March 1939. W179
Brief editorial commenting on the banning of the February issue of The Studio from the mails. Protests brought about a reversal of the ban.
"Whig Prosecutions of the Press." Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, 35:295-310, March 1834. W180
While the Whigs have long "laid exclusive claim to the privilege of vindicating" the liberty of the press, the writer, a Tory, cites numerous examples of press prosecution at the hands of the Whigs. While respecting the liberty of the press, he observes: "We have never felt that it was so essential to our existence as the air we breathed--or that without it we should have died."
[Whipple, Leon R.]. "Censorship." In Encyclopaedia Britannica. 14th ed., 1929. vol. 5, pp. 114-17. W181
General account of censorship in the United States and Great Britain.
-------. "Gags and Shackles." Survey, 64:154-56, 1 May 1930. W182
Review of the following books: Mary Ware Dennett's Who's Obscene, Ernst and Lorentz' Censored, H. M. Kallen's Indecency and the Seven Arts, James Mackaye's Thoreau, H. W. Nevinson's The Voice of Freedom, and H. I. Brock's Meddlers.
-------. Our Ancient Liberties; the Story of the Origin and Meaning of Civil and Religious Liberty in the United States. New York, Wilson, 1927. 153p. W183
A popularized account of the history of civil liberties, including the English origins and the American contributions down to 1917. Chapter 7 deals with Freedom of Speech and of the Press.
-------. "Plans and Censors." Survey, 66:446-47, 1 August 1931. W184
Praise for the National Council on Freedom from Censorship and some general comments on movie censorship.
-------. The Story of Civil Liberty in the United States. New York, Vanguard Press and American Civil Liberties Union, 1927. 366p. W185
This popular summary of civil liberties contains numerous references to freedom of the press--the Alien and Sedition Acts, early prosecutions for blasphemy and obscenity, the suppression of abolitionist literature, and the threats against the newspaper press during the Civil War. The concluding chapter deals with the suppression of social nonconformity during the 1920's--birth control, anarchism, and evolution.
White, Albert L. "Liberty and the Local Press." Contemporary Review, 200:465-68, September 1961. W186
To the local editor freedom of the press means something more than keeping an eye on the legislative and executive; it means seeing that the town council and other local statutory bodies in the United Kingdom keep open the channels of information. The Guild of British Newspaper Editors played a leading part in getting the Public Bodies Act passed, establishing more firmly the right of the public to hear and the press to report council meetings.
White, Andrew D. A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom. New York, Appleton, 1896. 2 vols. (Reprinted in 1960 by Dover Publications) W187
An American scholar (onetime professor of history and president of Cornell University, minister to Germany and to Russia) traces the struggle between scientific knowledge of man and the universe and dogmatic theology. His account begins with the Middle Ages and closes with the end of the nineteenth century. He refers to the Church's attacks on scientific theories of the universe, the geology of the earth, and theories of evolution, which were considered blasphemous. Such opposition frequently resulted in suppression of speech and press and in persecution of the holder of unorthodox beliefs.
White, George A. Shall Speech be Free? Toronto, 1910. 23p. (Reprinted from Secular Thought) W188
A brief history of man's struggle with the censors and an impassioned plea for complete "freedom to write and publish anything on any conceivable subject--not one bar, not one tiniest taboo, not one darksome cranny or corner hidden from the frankest scrutiny."
White, Henry. "Trial with John Harriott Hart for Libels upon Sir Simon Le Blanc and the Administration of Justice . . . Published in the Independent Whig, 1808." In Howell, State Trials, vol. 30, pp. 1131 ff., 1194 ff. W189
Following the first trials the defendants, publisher and proprietor of the Independent Whig, stood trial again for criticism of the presiding judge, Lord Ellenborough. They were found guilty in both trials and given 18-month prison sentences.
White, Isaac D. Freedom of the Press and its Limitations. New York, Bureau of Accuracy and Fair Play, World Editorial News Rooms, 1914. 24p. W190
An address read at the National Newspaper Conference, University of Kansas.
White, Joseph B. The Law of Anti-Religious Libel Reconsidered in a Letter to the Editor of the Christian Examiner, in Answer to an Article . . . Against a Pamphlet Entitled, Considerations on the Law of Libel . . . by John Search [pseud. for Richard Whately]. London, Richard Milliken, 1834. 106p. W191
White defends Archbishop Whately against his critics, protesting against intolerance of religious thought.
White, Llewellyn. The American Radio, a Report on the Broadcasting Industry in the United States. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1947. 260p. (Report from the Commission on Freedom of the Press) W192
The history, development, and self-regulatory aspects of the American broadcasting industry. A detailed account of FCC rulings and court decisions affecting the role of government in regulating radio communications.
-------, and Robert D. Leigh. Peoples Speaking to Peoples; A Report on International Mass Communications from the Commission on Freedom of the Press. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1947. 120p. (Report from the Commission on Freedom of the Press) W193
A survey of the problems of transmitting information across national boundaries so that an accurate and fair picture of life in each country can be achieved. References to private monopoly and government restrictions, to Hollywood control of the motion picture industry and the British challenge. Kenneth Stewart reviews the work in the 27 April 1946 issue of Saturday Review of Literature, commending its impartial scholarship.
White, Melvin R. History of Radio Regulations Affecting Program Policy. Madison, Wisc., University of Wisconsin, 1948. 3 vols. (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation) W194
White, Newman I. "Literature and the Law of Libel: Shelley and the Radicals of 1840-1842." Studies in Philology, 22:34-47, January 1925. W195
An account of the blasphemy trial of Edward Moxon in 1841 for publishing Queen Mab. The trial, the author notes, "is simply an incident in a campaign waged with considerable resourcefulness by Henry Hetherington and his radical friends, partly for the protection of radicals from discriminatory treatment under the law of libel and partly to widen the limits of free speech under English law."
White, Pliny H. The Life & Services of Matthew Lyon . . . Burlington, Vt., General Assembly of Vermont, 1858. 26p. (Printed with The Marbles of Vermont by Albert D. Hager) W196
An address before the Vermont Historical Society in the presence of the General Assembly of Vermont, 29 October 1858. Lyon was the first to be imprisoned under the Sedition Act of 1798.
White, Thomas R. "Constitutional Provisions Guaranteeing Freedom of the Press in Pennsylvania." American Law Register, 52:1-21, January 1904. W197
The author discusses the provisions for freedom of the press contained in Pennsylvania's constitutions of 1790 and 1873 and the cases tried under each.
White, William. "Detroit Police Censorship." American Book Collector, 12(4):23-24, December 1961. W198
An account of Detroit police censorship written by a member of the faculty of Wayne State University who attempted to break the censorship.
[White, William Allen]. "A Document on 'Liberty.'" Literary Digest, 74:32, 19 August 1922. W199
Editor White's open letter to Governor Allen in defense of a free press.
-------. "How Free Is Our Press?" Nation, 146:693-95, 18 June 1938. W200
Editor White reviews the changing threats to the liberty of the press over the past 50 years. The present menace comes from organized control of newspaper opinion by the political advisers of national advertisers.
"A 'White List' for Plays." Literary Digest, 48:434, 28 February 1914. W201
The newly organized Catholic Theater Movement is trying "the method of preparing a 'white list' of plays deemed suitable for its members and exacting a pledge that they will abstain from any that do not appear on this list."
Whitebait, William. "This Censorship." New Statesman, 60:153-54, 30 July 1960. W202
A criticism of recent film censorship in England and the use of the "X" certificate "ostensibly for the protection of children."
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