The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-04-01
ELLSVOR7H'S lDIOCY.
Bill to Restrain the Publication
Of Newspaper Portraits
Under Way at
Albany.

ALBANY, April /, 1S97.-In the New
York Senate today the first bill on the
calendar was Senator Ellsworth's re-
straining the unauthorized printing. pub
hshing or circulating of portraits or al
legged portraits ef individuals
Senator Guy moved to strike out the
enacting clause of the bill and made
vigorous attack upon it, He said in its
amended form it was worse than as or
lglnaily introduced 1t now provides that
every news agency which innocently cir
cuiated paper containing such un-
duthorlzeo portrait, every newsboy
whether he could read or not, was liable
to Indictment at any time under the
amended provision of the BILL He
pointed out the great benefits which re-
suiled from the publication of portraits
Oh professional thieves and crooks. and
yet under this bill the papers were pro-
hloited from publishing a portrait except
the person be a fugitive from justice He
oelehded the paiitical cartoon and en-
ueaVoreu 10 point out the great influence
Wnich II had exercised in bringing to
ehe attention of the people abuses in pub
lie affairs.
senator McCarren said that he could
see no good feature in the bill He pre-
sumed that it was designed to suppress
certain publications which were of so in
accent and suggestive a nature as to be
degrading to morality. This bill could
not suppress that The bill was a strike
AGAINST the freedom and liberties of the
press; Such carlcatures as were now pub
hsned did no particular harm as was
eyinced IN the case of Senator Platt, who
had peen more earicatured than ony other
man a1d who recently received the vote
OF almost every Senator on the floor for
one OF the highest offices within their
gift.
Senator Ellsworth briefly defended the
Din, declaring that certain publications
abused the privacy of home and in some
eases ca shocked the sense of decency of
al moral persons. He said it had been
declared that the law of libel was annie
10 reach all cases which this bill sought
to reach, This he denied and called at
.Ientlon to recent publication of the
preaching maternity The portraits were
probably reasonably accurate and the
statements made concerning them and
the wealth. of their prospective children
andouotedly true, yet there was not a
senator here who would not have resent
ed 1t mad his wife been thus pictured
ana 1t was to reach such cases that this
Dill was proposed.
IN answer to d question of Senator Gllv.
senator Ellsworth said that he hoped the
bill would be effective enough to prevent
any paper from publishing portraits or
allesed portralts OF court room scenes,
winch he said had become a menace to
tne proper administration of justice. The
bill had been designedly drawn to pro-
hibit the publication of portraits of con-
victed criminals. No good purpose. he
said, could be served by the printing of
pictures of convicted murderers or thieves.
Don't you think that the publication
of the portraits of notorious counter
delters mas a tendency to suppress this
Il q 1i1seAf7 ,t1,.
Not at all; not at all,'' emphatieally
declared Senator Ellsworth. THE fact
is just the contrary. The publication of
sucn 81 t,I pictures tend to promote crime
senator Wray said he was opposed to
the principle of the bill He believed that
there were abuses in this matter of print
ing portraits, but Thought that it could
safely be left to public sentiment-to work
out the proper solution He objected pare
tIeuuarly to the provision which permitted
the attorney of the persons whose por-i
trait is published to make the complaint.
Senator Grady objected particularly to
the publication OF the portrait of women
agains. their wish, for the sole purpose of
advertising the paper. This was an evil.
he said, that had grown UP with the de-
velopment of Photography and the degen-
GRAFTON of the press
In answer to Senator Gl1y's are1In,ent
that the passage of this bid would throw
many people out of employment, he said
IT would not interfere with any man en-
gagged in honest or decent labor His
heart was not swelling with fear ti1at
Puck Should suffer because of the pas
sage of this bill for the chief aim of that
paper was to olltrageously. libel the Irish
man and the German Senator Cantor
attacked the bin as restriction of the
liberty of the pllblic press. 1t went alto
gether too far in its provisions, and was
more restrictive even than the libel law.
Il the trainers Of the bill were sincere in
their purpose to protect the home he
would suggest 10 them that they amend
It accordingly He would favor a law
whose object was to protect woman from
the publication of Objectionable nort,-aits
Senator Guy then proposed an amend-
ment to the bill to prohibit only the pub
hcation OF females not holding public
once and dead persons without the con-
sent OF their relatives. This was quickly
voted down and he offered another amend
ment winch provided that nothing in
the Dill should be construed to prohibit
the publication of political cartoons,
This brought forth a vigorous attack
against the cartoons from Senator Malby.
who said that the constant holding nm fo
ridicule of public officers could but weak
en- tnelr strength, power and weakness
and tne respect OF the people whom they
served Public officials, he said, should
pc projected as well as private citizens
senator Guy s amendment was then de-
leated ana the Dill was advanced to the