New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-09-19


Vice TO bar James Branch
Cabell's fantasy novel Jurgen
from the American reading public, on
tho ground Of obscenity, has stirred
M quite the liveliess discussion Of the
vaar in literary cirelea The final
iseal Judgment in the case Of Jurgen
has not yet been rendered, but the sale
and circulation of tho book have been
stopped.
Shortly after the action Of the So
eiety became known an emergency
committee, consisting 0? Edward Hale,
Bierstadt, Sidney Howard and Barrett
n. Clark, was formed for the purpose
Of protesting against the suppression
OF Jurgen. The report Of this COM
mit.ee, now published under the title
OF Jurgen and the Censor, sums up the
main features Of controversy which
suggests the famous trial Of Gustave
Flaubert for the publication of
Madame Bovary in the widespread in
terest it has aroused.
Mr.. Cabell's own views on the sub
feet of literary censorship are vigor-
ously expressed in the following pas
,ages from q letter to the secretary Of
the committee:
Gas to censorship Of our reading mat
ter concede this may In theory be ad-
ysabls. IN practice, though, I can
imagine no persons or class Of persons
qualified to perform this censorship.
Pace the vice society, there Is GER
tainly difference between pornog-
raphy and fine literature, If but the
difference that everybody enjoys the
first, when few care one way or the
other about the second, and certainly
the two should be appraised by diverse
and appropriate standards. A work of
art should, therefore, in theory, be
judged entirely as a work of art, by
jury Of practitioners Of the art con-
cerned.
yet, since every self-respec.ing
author at the bottom abominates his
is frankly irritated b. the work of
those who differ from him IL aesthetic
canons, such an arrangement would,
in practice, only fling open more con-
spicuous fields wherein to faunt the
mutual spite and miscomprehension
common 10 us creative writer's. Besides.
it is rot difficult 20 forecast what sort
o. writer's must, and would, be chosen
for the judiciary, as representing the
dignity of letters by the happiest com
tln@tion Of mediocrity and senility.
No; n the end an attempt to estab-
lsh purely Literary tribunal would
result IN setting over American art
death watch o. genial clcrgymen and
decrep!t college professors; and de-
spondcH.ly question if their decisions
would be whit less imbecile than the
present arbi;raments Of the socicty's
hired spies
Art and Morality
a a.! events you and are in the
negligible minority. need hardly re-
mind you that the officers of the So
clety have embattled back Of them all
the comp!acent muddlehcadcdness of
the average pew-rentng American,
VINO from the first has rather fret
July resented any talk about art
Mr.. Paul L. More, in ore of the let
'erS relative to the Jurgen imbroglio,
has nicely summed up this popular
point Of view: I am not at all in
sympathy with group OF writer's
VINO would take any protest against
Inc society as u justification of what
Trey are pleased 10 call art The harm
cone by tho society seems to be very
slight, whereas the harm done by the
seN-styled artist may be very great
Now that is really the popular and.
therefore, fhe cxpedent moral atti-
tude. The moral OF democracy is,
after all, q matter Of elementary arith-
metic: one counts the ballot (some-
vines, IT IS said, quite honestly) in
ofoer to distinguish between right and
wronae. because the voice of the peo-
pie Is VIGOROUSLY the voice OF God
II Is precisely this discerning voice
which has proclaimed time and again
mat the sturdy American pcerage of
natures nobiemen does not want to
% bothered with any nonsense about
literature and art: for the reasons,
hrst, that such fripperies play no part
IN honest poll tax payers lives; and
second, that in very much the manner Of
n's MIR. Moore. our reputable citizenry-
soscurely and inarticulately, but none
me less genuinely-resents the impu-
oence OF 'self-styled artists who pre-
sumo TO know more than their bet
'ers about what they are pleased to
call art"
Functions Of Vice Society
John s. Sumner, secretary of the
society for the Suppression Of Vice,
gives the following Interpretation Of
Inc functions OF his organization:
This corporation was organized in
1913 to enforce the laws seeking TO
suppress traffic in obscene, lewd lasci-
v'ous' indecent filthy and disgusting
looks or publications, and for other
purposes, This law does not make ex-
ospron as to the publications of INV