New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-18
THE NEW CENSORSHIP
MESSRS. W. H. SMITH & SON As A
BITERs OF ENGLISH LITERA.
TURE AND PUBLIC
MORALS

n
has attracted the attention Of the Society .,
Authors. The council Of that Society are cor.
sidering. 1t is said. whether any and wha, s,.r.
can be taken to control the arbitrary .xero,..
of the moral prerosative claimed by this Am
Whether they mean TO proceed legally q. :,
moral suason is not stated Il Is a little a,m
cult to see how the law could touch them 49,.
that is a matter upon which nobody but ,a,,
yer would care to hazard positive opinion: M,
he unless he were paid for it. Messrs. Smith
might very we'll say they could not be compe,ha
to sell books they do not wish to sell. Whe,h.,
they might not be legally compelled to distribu,.
them to their circulating-library customers 4. |.
different question Their obligations to their cu,
toners are analogous at least in one respec, 4.
their obligations 10 the customer to whom thew
have agreed TO post newspaper, and to whom
they post only part Of newspaper The sub.
scriber to a circulating library pays his monev
on the faith OF promise. express or implied
that current literature shall be furnished to him
Messrs. Smith take his money and then say thev
will not send him a particular book because thev
think it might njure his morals. Or mere prob.
ably they withhold Esther Waters" from circu
lation and give no reason. Query. whether the
unsupplied customer may not have a right Of
action against Messrs Smith?
Whether Mr. George Moore. the author. or
Mr. Scott, the publisher. have remedy is again
a different question Mr.. Conan Doyle In a
generous spirit comes to the aid Of his brother
author with a letter to 1.-The Chronicle" He re-.
marks. very justly. that, though Messrs W. II.
Smith & Son are a private firm. they hold a
huge monopoly and are practically public In.
stitution. and that such an institution ought not
to be managed upon lines OF individual caprice
or Intolerance Exclusion from their stalls and
their libraries means tina; the work is cut of at
the meter as far as the country consumer goes"
The metaphor is more striking than compa.
nentary to Mr.. Moore. But Mr. Conan Doyle
does not mean to be uncomplimentary for no
speaks Of Esther Waters a great and
very serious book. lie defends IT moral
grounds as the greatest sermon against gambling
ever preached.-a book which deals with vice
but does not make vice attractive On what
ground then. asks Nj. Doyle, can Messrs. Smith
innict so serious an injury on the author ana
his book as to exclude Il from large share Of Ito
natural market
Perhaps upon the same ground as that on
which another firm OF tradesmen stand; retan
grocers in Midland town. \ manufacturer
sends them goods for sale aad with the goods
sends also books as gifts TO entice purchasers
The grocers thereupon write the following letter.
I'VE are Offering FOR sale the gross OF -
sent. and believe the giving Of books for the
wrappers 10 introduce 1t 10 be very good ana
useful way OF getting It known. but are sorry
IN find that the greater part OF those sent are
novels. We shall be pleased 70 let the customers
have ANYTHING that j. good and useful, out not
works Of fiction We should not like to offer
,har, IN any one or read them ourselves. men,
TONED II 70 the traveller. but suppose nothing
was mentioned 70 you about It. Couid you
Kindly change those Objectionable for some OF
the others and oblige?'
Amonp the books which the pous grocers ma
objectionable are Uncle Toms CABIN "oh'er
Twist" and stories by Artemus ward ana Na'A
rwain Those which they are willing to circulate
,,c,uda such cheerful productions or the re-
,,a,ous non az THE Inquirer's Oracle. ana
.,,a, =, medicine entitled The Housenola
Doctor" What a glimpse INTO the in'e"
life Of the provincial Dissenter' Anu 49,
comment on the pious Messrs' W. H. 0 -,
proceedings Is supplied by the p'ous p'o'."e
grocers. II Is so apt that one h's"' u0'0
commences OF the grocers' letter Il T" app.'
In ony columns less serious tnah 'ho'e VI w
D,.ssnters' organ, THE Daily News. IL "e''~
Smith had a sense OF humor they might proh -
,h,s procers' object lesson In literary censorship
But fear they have none =,
am tempted to quote from THE Atnehaeu'"
rather good misprint. That critical Out ho'
o,,,ovs accurate journal OF literature and DINER
.,,ngs IN the course OF It's review Of esther
waters" quotes the striking description OF char
IN search
work Mr.. Moore writes: "Corpulent women
nasSed their eyes liquid with invitation. -"
Atne,aeum" prints. their lips liquid with ih'r
tation." Where was the proofreader WHO ,ea,.
for sense? Where is the policeman "hen "' :.
wanted? The review ends: In conciuSi0n'
may be remarked. as It is stated that one e".
ing library has refused 10 circulate TINS 49,
that its tendency Is eminently moral
Messrs. W. H. Smith & Sons are far TOO go
people to pay much attention to what Is S''a ~
them In the newspapers by the SAFE oi ""
they have made vast fortune. IL H. aS w.
NOT Messrs. Smith who are afraid OF the hs".
papers. but the newspapers when are HI a.N -
Messrs. Smith. Their monopoly OF the i"""
stalls gives them a power 10 restrict or eA'eH"
tho circulation OF any English paper. wne'ne.
tbav use the power from any but motives :"
morality I do not know. They do use !.
hava used Il In the case OF certain papers wn'o"
they boycotted exactly as they ooyco'' 49,
George Moore's novel. I sometimes WINS
whether the British public are really a"Ns
that the choice Of the papers and books tney a's
allowed to buy and read In every railway ''aAs-
in England and Wales is determined LOT '''
by people whose commercial morality Is
showed the other day. not entirely BEYOND CIV
cism. A..
May g This subject is growing, iea.'
vast 1t has, at any rate. excited so muoh NV"
est that Messrs. W. H. Smith & Son na'e nv, I'M
been twice interviewed. In the person OF MI 49,.
lam Faux. whom the writer in the Chro"..
calls no doubt truly. the able and geh'ai -
OF Smiths Circulating Library Ine san p.u
tleman stated his case. but less fully 70 az.
Mall Gazette" Mr.. Faux disclaims all p'e'Ds
against Mr.. George Moore. 1t appears no. ~.oxs
that since the first novel in 1888, all his o,
have been steadily boycotted by Messrs' 81 On !,
Mr.. Faux insists that each has been reJe.,
to ,,ar,ts and NOT because II was MI 'io'