Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-11-30
PLEA FOR FREEDOM
Brief in Publicity Law Test
Case Is Filed.
REVIEWS FEDERAL POWER
Questions Governments Right to
Censor the Press.
DECLARED TO BE INJUSTICE
Legislation Will Favor Strong
Newspapers as Against the
Weak, Says Beck.
|ECLARED TO BE INJUSTICE

Former Assistant Attorney General
James NJ. Beck filed today IN the Supreme
Court his brief in the case brought h
the Lewis Publishing Company 10 test
the constitutionality Of the newspaper
publicity law.
The brief discusses fully the power or
the federal government indirectly e.
censor the press through the regulation
OF the mails. and reviews at length the
struggle in England and America TO free
the press from restraint and the meaning
of the first amendment forblddng any
ahridgment of the freedom OF the press
Mr.. Beck argues that the Constitu-
ton did not expressly give any power 10
regulate Journalism. amy attempted regu-
lation can only be JUSTIFIED as necessarN
and proper means to carry out some fed
eral function He denied that the reeu-
lation OF newspaper ownership and the
enforced publicity of its business can b.
an appropriate means OF carrying oui
the federal power over the MALE.
Decisions Are Reviewed.
The brief reviews al OF the decisions
of the Supreme Court. numbering over
twenty, in which congressional acts have
been invalIdated by the Supreme Court
for want Of constitutional power. ana IL
claims that the present law is within the
doctrine of those decisions.
Mr.. Beck strongly denounces the idei
that Congress can 50 use its powers a.
to accomplish unconstitutional ends. This
the brief calls "nulliioation by indirec-
ton" and II cites the commodities C ause
of the Hepburn bill. Senator Beveridge
child labor bill and the present newsps
per law as striking examples OF an al
tempted perversion OF federal power I"
accomplish Interior and demonstrations.
ends.
Reviews Old Struggle.
After reviewing the struggle which led.
both in England and America, TO the
freedom of the press he asserts that
such liberty consists not only in freedom
from absolute prohibition but also OF ex-
emption from any burdensome or unreal
sonable restraint. Any undue burden
upon writing or publication or other re
strIction of the full right to print and
circulate is an abridgment OF the press
and contrary to the first amendment
The brief argues that the enforced pub
LEGATION of a newspaper company's circu-
lation and the publishers creditors would
unduly burden the power or the weak
newspaper to compete with the stronger.
and in many cases drive the weak neWs-
paper to the wall
He further argues that at the time the
first amendment was adopted the tmper-
sonal dissemination OF ideas was gener-
ally recognized in discussion: The let.
fact that the Constitution itself would
never have been adopted had II not been
for the federalist papers, published
anonymously by Hamilton, Madison and
Jay.
Discussion Is Restricted.
Any attempt to compel a newspaper
N ifa
creditors. or to compel 1t to mark as
an advertisement matter which IL has
published for a consideration. restricts
the freedom Of discussion. and is con-
trary to the custom of impersonal writ
ing, which prevailed generally in Eng
land and America when the Constitution
was framed.
The brief further argues that the APP
preparation of the newspaper columns
to enforce the policy of publicity. with
out compensation, violates the nfth
amendment. in taking property without
due process or law.
No Hypocritical Pretense.
Mr.. Beck argues that the law has the
merit Of sincerity in that 1T makes no
hypocritical pretense to being a means
to carry out any constitutional power.
He quotes the debates of Congress as
showing that the authors of the bill.
Senators Bourne and Reed and Repre-
sentatives Henry. Barnhardt and others.
all admitted that the purpose of the act
was to compel a public disclosure OF the
ownership of newspapers and of the In
fiuences which dictated their policies
The Supreme Court has specially set
Monday next for the argument of THIS
test case. II is expected that Robert {.
Morris will open the case for the news
pa pers. Solicitor General Bullitt will speak
for the government. and James NJ. Beck
will make the closing argument for the
newspaper press.