Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1914-04-29
THEY SUCCEED IN GETTING BILL
BEFORE PARLIAMENT STAMP
ING AZ INDECENT CERTAIN
WORKS OF ART.
WOULD SAVE YOUTH
SUCCESS TO NOW FOLLOW LONG
CAMPAIGN FOR PROTECTION
OF YOUTH AGAINST FILTH IN
MORD AND PICTURE.
Or Associated PrcSsl.

Berlin. Germany. April 3>.-ticrman
moralisi~ and artists are waeing battle
over the question Of what are The limits
~ propriety in nude art.
After a long campaign for the pro
Election Of the youth against filth in
word and picture" a. the movement IL
termed. the moraliS;S nave succeeded in
getting u hill before Parliament for a
law stamping n indecent pictures which
might arouse phaia>ics Of unripc
youth"
The Goethe Association an organla
tion of artists and literary men and
women. has risen ~ protest. ~ = recent
meeting >r. Ludwig Fulda referred 10
the recent decision % the Imperial "a
preme Court in the Eases arising from
She confi>caiion by The polic. Of \ great
quantity Of post card reproductions ~
famous paintings. This court held that
the provision If the Law stamping ~ IN
dcctli works which tend a. cause of
Tense to or %injarr the feelings of moflc.
~ or \ normal person clearly contcm-
plated 4 normal adult person. and that
pictures we're mol necessarily indecent
fr,sn the mere fact that they NIGH
arouse the phantaSic> Of %unrirc youth.
The court also ruled that nudity j. not in
itself indcccncy. This latter ruling. said
DIR. Fulda. Was indubitnblv 4 vote of
confidence in the Creator If all things.
The measure Ia which the Goethe A.
Suciatinn AFFECTS seeks e. cnnHtrrari the
ruling Of the supreme Court. II provides
that adnltS may legally take offrnsc'
II pictarcS. books. etc. which they con
slider a menace 10 youth. The term nor.
NAL person IL replaced bv person
sud the provision IF the existing law re-
curing that criminal intent b. shown i;
dropped.
Dr. Fulda az well as the speakers
who followed him III the protest meet
inc declared that The proposed law would
put al Germans into the nursery" Ii
constituted an unreasonable gaardiau-
ship ~ adults III III efforts to guard
children. IN would mean that works 81
AT would he judged from the viewpoint
~ the immature. and that would moan
IN turn that art would bc hirattlctl. The
Goethe Association. said DIR. Fulda. was
also Interested I'M the welfare ~ the
youth and IN their protection against
evil Influences hut this was The work
of the family. The unripcHrSS Of ynuth
must NOT be- made the standard for
judging works Of art.
Defenders of the proposed law Glare
that. apart from the recent postcard
confiscatioHS. which are generally al
mittcd IA have hcpn rather lHhicrou> tx
ranSsnnS of miSusrd zeal. both pictorial
and literary extended protection IL ter
many. The new law. they point out. is
chiefly designed 10 do away with inHnod-
est exhibitions in shop windows.
\ very considerable number W artists
in Gcrmanw maintain that there i M
possible subject which Il pinier 81 sculI,
tor cannot properly handle. III his work
j. artistic. they declare. il must h. free
from interference. ~ matter what Sli,
jcct il represented. The views Of th>i
4 'hnul were recently summed up IN q
Satiiical writer a. follows
The test ~ whether Il I,aint;n. II \
true work II art j. this, If. when You
lock al il. il causes no evil thoughts.
that proves that ID il Il work ~ art. VI
IL does cause evil thoughts. that proves
that YOU are y hog"