Evening star., 1914-04-25
WAR ON NUDE ART
WAGED BY MORAL|sTS
Succeed in Getting Bill Before Ger
man Parliament After
Campaign.
Urge Ban on Pictures That Might
AROUSE the Phantasies of Un-
ripe YOUTH

BERLIN. April 1o.-German moralists
and artists are waging battle over the
question Of what are the limits of pro-
priety in nude art. After a long CAM
paign for the protection of the youth
against filth in word and pictures" as
the movement is termed. the moralists
have succeeded in getting a bill before
parliament for law stamping as in
decent pictures which might arouse the
phantasies of unripe youth"
The Goethe Association. an organiza-
ton of artists and literary men and
women, has risen in protest At recent
meeting DIR. Ludwig Fulda referred to
the recent decision of the imperial su-
preme court in the cases arising from
the confiscation by the police of a great
quantity OF postcard reproductions of
famous paintings. This court held that
the provision of the law stamping as in
decent works which tend to cause Of
fense to or injure the feelings of modesty
of a normal person clearly contemplated
a normal adult person, and that pictures
were not necessarily indecent from the
mere fact that they might arouse the
phantasies of unripe youth" The court
also ruled that nudity is not in itself in
decency. This latter ruling, said DR..
Fuida. was .indubitably .. vote of conf
dence in the Creator of all things.
The measure to which the Goethe Asso-
citation objects seeks to counteract the
ruling of the supreme court. 1t provides
that adults may legally take offense'
at pictures. books. etc. which they con-
normal person" Is replaced by person"
and the provision OF the existing law
requiring that criminal intent be shown
is dropped.
Guardianship of Adults.
DR.. Fulda, as well as the speakers who
followed him at the protest meeting, de-
clared that the proposed law would put
all Germans into the nursery 1t con-
stituted an unreasonable guardianship of
adults in its efforts to guard children.
1t would mean that works Of art would
be Judged from the viewpoint of the
immature, and that would mean in turn
tina. art would be throttled.
The Goethe Association, said DR.. Fulda,
was also interested in the welfare of the
youth and their protection against evil
influences. but this was the work of the
family. The unripeness of youth must
not be made the standard for judging
works of art.
Defenders of the proposed law declare
that, apart from the recent postcard con-
fscations, which are generally admitted
to have been rather ludicrous exhibitions
of m!sused zeal, both pictorial and liter
ary art have extended protection in Ger
many. The new law. they point out, is
chiefly designed to do away with i'm
modest exhibitions in shop windows
A very considerable number of artists
in Germany maintain that there is no
possible subject which painter or sculp-
tor cannot properly handle. II his work
is artistic, they declare, it must be free
from interference. no matter what subject
is represented. The views Of this school
were recently summed up by satirical
writer as follows:
1.-The test of whether a painting is a.
true work of art is this: If, when you
look at it, it causes no evil thoughts.
that proves that it is work of art. II
1t does cause evil thoughts, that proves
that you are hog.
Air Line for Diamonds.
Aeroplanes will be used to bring dia-
monds from the mines of German south
west Africa to their shipping point. The
air route will save both time and money,
since it will at once do away with the
necessity of traversing difficult jungle
paths and of sending troop Of soldiers
with each shipment to protect it from
robbers.
The imperial colonial authorities have
laid out a flying field at Caribib, hun
dred miles northeast Of Swakopmund, and
experiments will be begun there next
month by four non-commissioned officers
of the African protectorate troops who
have been trained at Johannisthal and
Mulhausen.
Besides transporting diamonds. the ma
chimes will serve to bring mall out from
the interior and for military observations.
chartography, etc. \ very important
part of the aviators work will be the
carrying of doctors about the colony.
With the aid of the signaling apparatus.
it will be possible to summon a physician
within a few hours to as many as 200
villages. BY roadways it would take him
several DAYS to. .reach some of the places