The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-04-01

New York, March 3o.-The re-
cent suppression, on the ground
that they are immoral, of two books
published by highly reputable
American firms, has attracted re-
newed attention to the activities Of
the New York society for the sup
preston of vice, otherwise known
as the Comstock society, which
made the attacks on both of them.
Heretofore the activities of the
Comstock society seem to have met
with little criticism, but in the case
of the novel just suppressed, cur
gen." by James Branch CabelD,
several of the strong conservative
newspapers of the country have ex-
pressed disapproval of this polio
ing of our national literature by an
organization which is, they say,
doubtfully we'll qualified to
judge it..
According to Henry L. Mencken,
the we'll known critic, this Com
stock society and other societies of
similar nature have pronounced
effect on the quality Of American
literature. 1t is not that the &C
tual number of books suppressed
is large. but that every American
writer of fiction is in constant
danger of an attack on his good
name and his property if he writes
something which the Comstock
society chooses to consider i'm
moral.
1T is no wonder" he writes,
that the typical American maker
of books becomes a timorous and
ineffective fellow, whose work
tends inevitably toward a feeble
superficiality 80. The result is a
literature full of mawkishness. -
In England there are 10 compe-
tent novelists for every one in
America. In England there have
been suppressions, too, but the at
titude toward literature is vastly
more tolerant there than here, and
the result is a far richer crop Of
books, many of which are brought
out in America. 1t might be
added that these English importa-
lions are seldom bothered by the
Comstocks. 1t would be easy to
mention half 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 con-
| corning it than the lately sup
pressed "Jurgen."
Few Americans understand the
machinery by which this business
of censoring their national lttera-
ture is carried on. The New York
Society for the Suppression of
Vice was founded by Anthony COM
| stock, VINO received his first finan-
cial backing from Morris X. Jesup.
Comstcck got bill through con-
gress in 1878 which prohibited the
sending through the mails of "ob-
scene, lewd, lascivious or filthy
matter, but which did not define
these adjectives, leaving it wholly
to the jury to decide what came
within the meaning of the law. A
! similar dIucIuuuCuL ~ LhC -NS"
York code of criminal procedure
added to the strength OF the prose-
cutors by enabling them to at
tack the publishers under state
flaw in the city where nearly the
whole of the American publishing
business is located.
Now this law was primarily de-
signed to keep out Of circulation
worthless pornographic literature
Ia thing which everyone agreed
should be done. Several such
books, including the notorious
only a Boy" were suppressed and
everyone applauded. Then Com
stock proceeded to show what a
dangerous power he had created by
atacking 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 beer
created for the suppresstng o.
! worthless literature could be used
ruthlessly for the suppression O
any book whatever. even though