The Washington times., 1921-02-23
CRAFTS CAN'T !
BOSS HEARING
District Commissioners Deny
Reform Chiefs Request to Con-
troll Censorship Meeting.

The District Commissioners today
turned down the request of DR.. Will
bur +. Crafts, superintendent OF the
international reform bureau. that he
be allowed twenty minutes to open
and ten minutes to close the public
hearing next Monday afte0noon on
movie censorship.
REFERRED TO DIR. CLARK.
.The Commissioners feel that" says
a letter TO Crafts written today, "as
the subject OF the character or mo-
tion pictures TO be exhibited In the
city OF Washington is largely local
one il will be better IL some speaker
representing the citizenship OF wash
ington should control the time OF the
speakers"
The Commissioners announced that
DIR. Lucius c. Clark, secretary OF the
Federation OF Churches, would In
troduce the speakers at the hearing
and suggested that DIR. Crafts ar
range with DIR. Clark at the time
for the presentation or his remarks.
A petition and four letters opposing
censorship, were received by the
Commissioners today.
TEXT OF PETITION.
The petition says:
I'VE, the undersigned, being regu-
lar patrons of the motion picture
theaters OF Washington are strongly
opposed to censorship of pictures In
the District of Columbia"
The petition is signed by r. w.
Koontz, 22O N street northwest; NJ.
c. Kane, 1914 street northeast; w.
northwest; A. ID. Gibson. 1889 Oak
street northwest; C. M. Whitehead,
2l29 N street northwest; Clarence e.
.Aylor. 209 Morgan street northwest;
Mrs, A. p. Fenton, 3215 Seventh
street northeast; Mrs. ID. N. Brewer.
62s G. street northeast; p. A Mca-
CHER, $500 Connecticut avenue north
west; Bessie Hamel. Riverdale, Nd,
Hazel Blick. 2s15 Eleventh street
northwest; George A. Geiser. River
dale, Md; Luther Etchison, 62o
Twenty third street northwest; Mar
tin Long. 643 A street southeast; o.
northwest; C. Edelin,. 1904 street
southwest and F. f. Dudley, sol
Fifth street northeast.
Excerpts from the letters follow:
Messrs Gale and Cramer, dis
tributors of house hold appliances,
with officers in the Bond building:
I'VE are in favor of a censorship
for moving pictures IL Immaculate
censors could be found. AS they are
unobtainable why attempt it?"
DEEMS 1T UNNECESSARY.
G. B. Van Nest. 2S29 Twenty
eighth street northwest.
LAS a citizen, the head OF family,
a lover Of good, clean amusements, l
wish to record my protest against
censorship in any form and especially
motion pictures as / believe from the
enterprise shown by the people in
charge of this fast growing and well
conducted business and the strong
competition, which is in realty the
best censor that can be placed on any
business, will keep them clean and
up to the requirements of our Amer
lean people"
Edna c. Taylor, 2O7 East Capitol
street-Fhfs censorship proposition
to me is uncalled. for and doubtless is
the result Of some overzealous re-
formers efforts to keep himself en-
ployed. cannot imagine that the
morale of the District citizenship has
fallen so low that it cannot be trusted
to do it's own censoring. -.,
HEARING NEXT MONDAY.
The Commissioners also received
letter from Charles A. Mcmahon. di-
rector of the National Catholic War
Council Motion Picture Bureau, favor
ing censorship. He said in part:
What the National Catholi War
Council desires in Washington is the
elimination of whatever may be Q)assi-
fled as unwholesome and indecent,
either in pictures, titles, or posters,
and the protection of the youth of
America from the evil influences
which emanate from these inde-
cencies."
The public hearing on censorship
will be held at o'clock in the board
room OF the District building next
Monday afternoon.