The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-08

(Elxclusive Service the Survey Press)
 Public censorship began in this coun- try with the sudden rise of motion pictures about nine years ago The pioneer censorship of Chicago was es- tablfshed November. 1907. It was upheld by the supreme court of Illinois ard has not been carried to the federal su- preme court This censorship is legal compulsory and carried out before the first public exhibition. The Chicago or dinanoe specifically prohibits only tv o kinds of films, the immoral and ob- scene" but its applica ton has been hroadened in practice There Is pen alty of not less than $50 nor more than film or part of 1t
 Work Now Under Morals Bureau
 The censoring was at the start broad ly assigned to the superintendent of police. An appeal to the mayor was pro- vided for. The censors' action on ary given film could be appealed to the courts. and such appeals have been oo- casionally made but are in their az gregate negligible. In January, 1913, the
 
 deputy superintendent, who is not a member of the uniformed force The work is now under the Morals bureau division of the police department with Major Funkhauser at it's head and tLu inspection work Is done by 10 salarled employees drawn from civil service.
 The second censorship enactment in this country was carried through in San Francisco in the latter part of atrth fvxU he, -n motion picture exhibits, This ordinance has been rather lightly applied and is now carried out largely after the first public exhibition of films The inspec- tor is a corporal of the police.
 Fairly simultaneously with legal cen sorship, the national board of censor ship of motion pictures came into ex- fstence. as work local to New York. In March. 1909, and was extended to include the whole country in June, 1909. It was not a legal censorship in any particular and continues as purely cooperative and voluntary ar rangement.
 Between the years 1909 and 1913 cen sorship laws were passed in the fol- lowing cities Kansas City Portland, Ore. Los Angeles, Atlanta, Pittsburg, Kansas. Seattle. and a little later, Pasa- dena. These are all prepublicity laws, fin that thye give statutory power to the censor fin advance of the first public exhibition.
 A Paid Secretary
 The Portland ordinance was amendod carly in the present year to provide for a paid secretary who works with group of about 25 censors most of the inspections being made after the first public exhibition of films. The work in Seattle Is done by group of five volunteers. In Los Angeles a vol untary board with a paid secretary views a certain proportion of the films in advance of publicity. The Kansas City board of public welfare has been intelligently active for several years. viewing some films before and some films after their first public exhibi- ton.
 All these boards or, officials use the aid of the national board of censorship of motion pictures, which. from its cen- tral station in New York. reviews prac- iically all films several weeks in ad- vance of their first public exhibition. Tho more important censorships, those which at present are the fighting issue In this field, are the state censorshps The first state censorship was created in Pennsylvania h 1911, but became opera tive only last year. During the legislative sessions just closed. the Pennsylvania and Ohio laws were amended to permit the delegation of censcring work to employees and hslpers of s boards-