Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1920-01-17
SATURDAY. ....JANUARY II, 1920.
BUItIESON AND THE CALL.

Even the conservative press has
been unable to stomach the sweep
Ing claim Of arbitrary and unrcvicw
able power OF censorship which Mr..
Burlcson has made in his answer to
the New York Calls mandamus pro.
ceedings. Such publications as the
New York Evening Post, the World
the Globe and even the Review have
roundly condemned the Postmaster
General. 1t is not too much to say
that If such power exists, and Is
permitted to continue, there is hard
ly a publication in the country which
is safe.
The case Of the New York Call IL
an instructive one, for it shows how
an autocratic and INSCRIPTIONS ad
minstrator acting under the barest
shadow Of legal right can successful
ly cXcrc sc powers which Congress
has repeatedly and cmphatically de-.
MED him.
The Call is daily paper published
i'll New York on a cooperative nom
profit making basis and is the official
organ of the Socialist Party Of New
York Il party which at the last cleo
ton pollcd over 100000 votes. 1t
threw its Influence against the parti
cipation Of the United States in the
war, and published repeated and vio-
lent attacks upon the motives and pol
icics Of the Administration, and OF
the Allied governments, taking the
position that the war was q capital--
lists war, and that political opposition
TO the war was to the hest interests
OF the working class. II did not how
over, advocate violation of law, or
resistance to lawful authority From
time to time the Postmaster General
declared particular issues of the Call
non-mailable under the Espionage
Law, and refused to transmit them
to their subscribers.
If Mr.. Burlcson had contcnted him
self with excluding particular issues
Of the Call from the mails for speci
fic and valid reasons, he would not
have laid himself open to serious
criticism. Congress had expressly Civ
en- him this power and it was a nee
cssary one, although open to serious
abuse in the hands of a Burlcson. But
the Postmaster General did not rest
there.
The postal laws require the Post
master General to grant second class
mailing privileges to every news pap
or or icriodical publication issued nj
stated intervals, for the disseminate
ion Of public information and hay,
ing legitimate list OF subscribers SO
long MS it Is not designed primarily
Tor advertising purposes There is
nothlng in the postal laws which NIL.
thor1ZcS him to refuse or revoke the
second class privileges of any newspu
per because OF its editorial opinions
or because 1t prints "scditious" or rad
lcal reading matter. If q ncwsnop
or violates any law, its editors can
DO indicted tried by jury. and fined
or sentenced to prison. If any Darti-
GUAR issue of the paper contains ma,
Ter IN violation of law, that issue can
DC hcld up and refused passage thru
the mail, whether first class, second
CLASS or third class. But q publicat.
ION can be permanently refused sec
ohd class privileges only OH the
ground that 1t is not newspaper"
as dcrined in the postal laws.
fhesc restrictions, carefully drawn
ny Congress around the postal censor
snip nave not troubled Mr.. Burleson
III the least. For more than two wears
lie has excluded the New York Call
from the second class mails, and he
sui more than year after the armis
tice' persists in his course He has
none 80 on the amazing ground that
the Call, because 1t has in hi opinion
violated the Espionage Law, Is not
newspaper at all. And this decis-
1on' that the Call is not "newspap-
er he no wclaims to be unreviewablc
ny any court Of the United States, The
result Ia that the Call, however law
apdlng its policy may he in the fu-
ture IS excluded by administrative
fiat from tho second class mails. for
''"i"llohS III law IOT WnlCn 1t
has never been indicted and Of
which 1t has never been convicted by
jury. II the Call violated the Espion
age Law, why are not its editors In
dicted, tried and sent to prison? Ia
ii because the government fears to nut
its case before an impartial jury of
twelve citizens, and prefers to obtain
n conviction from an arbitrary ana
partisan political appointee? If the
Call is non-mailablc, why is it not
excluded from the mails completely.
instead Of being permitted to circu-
late by paying first class postage? Is
1t not because Mr.. Burleson wishes
to avoid the safeguards which Con-
gress has drawn around the power
OF exclusion and prefers to act under
n usurped power which Congress re-.
fused to grant, and around which
there are therefore. no safeguards?
The preposterous claim of the Post
mater General that the New York Call