The record-union., 1897-03-02
AIMED AT LURID NEWSPAPERS.

A bill is pending in the Legislature of
New York that is of first Importance.
1t provides that no newspaper or mag
azine shall be privileged to publish
what purports to be the portrait or
figure of any person without the writ
ten consent of the person or of his or
her guardians, if a minor or incompe-
tent, or his legal representative if the
portrait is of the dead.
1t is said that there is a chance for
the bill to become law if the pressure
of the sensational press of New York
and all the aids it is able to muster
does not prove too great Such a meas
ure ought to be law everywhere. A
newspaper has no more right to illus
trate the portrait Of a person without
his consent than it has to steal and
print his manuscript in which the law
gives him a property right. Ones cOun
tenance in picture is his own, and no
one has the right to portray it without
his or her consent. The New York
Post" well puts it thus:
The suffering inflicted upon men and
women in private life by the horrible
caricatures with which the newspapers
abound is beyond computation. These
pictures are of all grades of beastliness.
Even where the artist reporter tries
to make fair representation the result
is necessarily a caricature because the
work is slashed out in a hurry and the
nFinfinpr iG only a I911I IlXr
an attempt is made to exaggerate some
feature of the victim in order to raise
laugh at his or her expense. Frequently
the head Of the subject is made very
large and the lower limbs very small so
as tos produce deformity. Sometimes
half dozen different postures of the
same person are published, all of them
ingeniously deformed. One newspaper
makes a practice of publishing separate
features of the same individual-an ear,
an eye, the nose, the hand, the foot,
etc, and then altogether. An emergen-
cy often arises when a cut is wanted
of some particular person in a hurry
and there is not time to obtain his or
her likeness. Then the editor slaps in
the first thing that comes handy. All
these are infamous outrages. They
ouSnI 10 De HIOUlDllCl ulidtI severe
penalties The bill is on the right lines
1t ought to double the penalty where
a false portrait is presented in place OF
a true one, and where an attempt is
made to caricature persons in private
life.
We think that exception should be
made to the proposed prohibition so
far as the portraits of criminals are
concerned who are not in custody, or
where the publication of portrait in
the opinion OF the police authorities
will tend to further the ends of jus
tice; also in publishing views of proper
public scenes in which many persons
appear The simple truth is that news
paper illustration of the proper order
is unobjectionable, and the decent
newspaper never will have much diff
Guilty in obtaining consent in all cases
where publication of a portrait is de-
sirable There viii be some cases now
and then in which natural modesty and
dislike for public parading prompt de-
NAL, even where their public char
acter would call for portraiture in
newspapers In all such cases it is their
right, however. to have their desire re-
spected The very fact that there are
men and women who are thus sensitive
and devoid of vaingloryipg, proves the
soundness of the claim that ii is a hui
man right to be protected that one
NAV refuse and by refusing prevent the
sprawling of his features upon news
paper or magazine page.
There is nothing in the bill that
harms anyone. There is much in it
that will do good. because it recognizes
and defends the right and sanctity of
nr;vacy. AS il is now the lurid press
invades any mans castle and drags his
most sacred gods to be viewed by the
gaming crowd. This same influence
lifts the veil from the shrine of the
home and parades the inner circle of
the household before the gaze of those
who have no concern with 1t except
that of mere curiosity.
Moreover, this same lurid and picto-