The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-04-01
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKKN. Director.
Washington, ID. @.
POLICING OUR LITERATURE.

| suppression, on the ground that they
are immoral of two books published
by highly reputable American firms,
| has attracted renewed attention to the
activities of the New York Society for
the Suppression of Vice, otherwise
known as the Comstoek society, which
made the attacks on both-of them.
Heretofore the activities of the Com
stock society seem to-haye met with
little criticism, but in the case of the
novel just suppressed, ("Jurgen," by
James Branch CabelD, several of the
strong conservative newspapers of the
| country have expressed disapproVal of
| this policing of our national literature
! by an organization which is, they say,
| doubtfully well qualified to judge it.
| According to Henry L. Mencken, the
well-known critic, this Comstock So
! ciety and other societies of similar ma
ture have a pronounced effect on the
quality of American literature. 1t is
not that the actual number of books
| suppressed is large, but that every
American writer of fiction is IN con-
slant danger of an attack on his good
! name and his property if he writes
something which the Comstock society
chooses to consider immoral
a.. 1t is no wonder" he writes,
that the typical American maker of
! books becomes a tinorous and inef-
fective fellow, whose work tends in
evitably toward a feeble superficiality.
o.. The result is a literature full of
In England there are ten COM
petent novelists for every one in
America. In England there have
been suppressions. too, but the atti-
tolerant there than here, and the re-
suit is a far richer crop of books,
many of which are brought out in
America. It might be added that
these English importations are seldom
bothered by the Comstocks. 1t would
be easy to mention half a dozen novels
of English origin, now in print in this
country, which are both franker in
their illusions to sex and more radical
in their implications concerning it
than the lately suppressed "Jurgen."
Few Americans understand the ma
chinery by which this business of CEN
soring their nationaai literature is car
ried on. The New York Society for
the Suppression of Vice was founded
by Anthony Comstock, who received
his first financial backing from Morris
X. Jesup. Comstock got a bill thru
congress in 1873 which prohibited the
sending thru the malls of "obscene.
lewd, lascivious =. or filthy" mat
ter, but which did not define these
jury to decide what came within the
meaning of the law. A similar amend
ment to the New York code of crimi-
nal procedure added to the strength
of the prosecutors by enabling them
to attack the publishers under state
law in the city where nearly the whole
of the American publishing business is
located.
1t has been shown that the Com
stocks have erected machine which
makes it possible for them sometimes
to suppress a book, On their own judg-
M emf w a nf d.
But even if he goes into court, the
author or publisher ig given no fair
chance, according to Mr.. Mencken,
who has studied all of the decisions in
defense that the offending work was
put forth for legitimate, necessary and
decent purposes; he cannot allege that
a first-class intelligence of the whole
world had Joined in proclaiming it
masterpiece.
Not only this, but Comstock and
his successors have shown that they
do not even need to find a jury which
will agree with then They have re-
peatedly suppressed books by merely
threatening prosecution. 1t is the
nuisance and expense of a lawsuit, and
still more, the besm caring of their
regulations which publisher and au-
thor alike fear.
The viewpoint of the Comstocks is
simple. and one which no doubt APP
peals to many Americans. 1t is eX-
pressed in the title of one of their
pamphlets, which is labeled:
MORALS, Not Art or Literature"
They take the view that no book which
could conceivably incite anyone, how
ever young or feeble-m minded, to think
immoral thoughts, or do immoral acts
should be allowed in print. They
imply that morals are all-important
and literature OF no Importance at all.
No one denies the importance of
social morality, or that the young and
unsophisticated should be protected
from demoralizing influences of every
kind; but good many deny that such
protection involves the destruction of
all works of art which are not suited
to the young and the nsophisticated.
All applaud when a book like "Only
a Boy is Suppressed, but good many
dissent and some howl with rage when
work like Jude the Obscure by
Thomas Hardy, one of the most
famous novelists in the world. is at
tackled on the same ground and by in
ference put in the same class.
Now this law was primarily designed
to keep out of circulation worthless
Topographic literature "a thing
which everyone agreed should be
done. Several such books, including
the notorious only a Boy" were sup
pressed and everyone applauded.
Then Comstock proceeded TO show
what a dangerous power he had
created by attacking Rabelais, the
Decameron, and the works of lola,
Balzac and Daudet - three French
classics which may be found on the
shelves OF every first class library in
the world. In other words, he showed
that a power which had been created
for the suppressing of worthless
literature could be used ruthlessly for
the suppression of any book what
even. even tho the passage complained
of is from a standard work itself in
general circulation; he cannot offer
evidence that the person to whom
book or picture was sold or ex-
hibited was not actually depraved by
it, or likely to be depraved by Il; he
cannot plead that the alleged obscen-
ity. in point Of fact is couched in