The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-30
AGAINST UNDRBSS PICTURES
AN ORDINANCE FOR THE SUPPRESS
SION OF THE POLICE
GAZETTE
AND PICTURES AND STORIES OF
DEEDS OF BLOOD OR IMMORAL
SUGGESTIONS.

Secretary Kane of the Pacific Society for
the Prevention of Vice was before the
Health and Police Committee of the Board
of Supervisors yesterday and presented the
draft of an ordinance directed against I'M
healthy literature and images, pictures,
representations, etc, of every character, to
the exclusion of such publications as the
Police Gazette and such advertisements as
a certain bull which figures on the dead
walls in behalf of a certain tobacco. Mr..
Kane specially mentioned the bull as a
thing to be promptly extinguished in case
the ordinance was adopted.
And the committee decided to recon-
mend it for passage.
The first clause of the ordinance pro-
vides that:
If any person shall bring or cause to, be
brought into this State for sale or exhibition,
or shall sell, lend, give away or offer to give
away, or show, or have in his or her possession
with intent to sell, or give away, or to exhibit,
show, advertise otherwise offer for loan, gift,
sale or distribution any obscene or indecent
book, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper, story
paper, writing, paper, picture, card, drawing
or photograph, or any article or instrument of
immoral or indecent use, or shall design, copy,
draw, photograph, print, utter, publish or
otherwise prepare such book, picture, card,
drawing, paper or other article, or shall write,
print or cause to be written or printed a cir
GUAR, advertisement or notice OF any KIND, or
give information, orally, stating when, where,
how or OF whom or by what means such indie
cent or obscene articles or thing can be pur-
chased, seen or obtained, shall in every such
case be guilty of misdemeanor, and upon
conviction thereof shall be sentenced TO pay d
fine not exceeding $500, or undergo an i'm
prisonment in the County Jail not exceeding
six months, or punished by both such fine and
imprisonment
This is an illustration of the sweeping
and binding character of the ordinance
In its succeeding clauses, and with equal
mlnutlH, the ordinance aims to prohibit
the circulation in any way, even by gift or
the having in possession by any person, or
the exhibition in any "hotel, saloon or
church." of any paper devoted to the dis
ports or pictures or stories of deeds of
blood. 1t makes it misdemeanor also to
exhibit an indecent picture or figure, or
any image or representation of the human
form in a nude or semi-nude condition.
The ordinance, Secretary Kane ex-
planned, was intended to put stop to the
posting of indecent theatrical play-bills or
other advertisements. He said if the
ordinance was passed he would see to it
that proceedings would be brought for
every infraction of it.
The communication from Police Sur
geon Somers relating to the desire of Mrs
Oelrichs and Miss Virginia Fair to present
the city-the emergency hospital-with an
am bulance horses, etc., provided the CITY
would accept and take care of them, was
read and the acceptance recommended. A
resolution thanking the Doctors Daugh-
tiers" and the donors was adopted
The protest against the asylum for a
certain class of females maintained at 26
Hill street was placed on file, with the
comment that the institution was a chart
table one and there was no cause for COM
plaint,