The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-06-11

case of both Indiana and Minnesota
! killed bills the house had passed.
! In South Dakota, perhaps, the bit
. terest fight of all occurred. A bill
providing for the creation of a COM
mission consisting of three members
passed in the house. When it reached
the senate an amendment was tackled
on making it compulsory that all films
and all advertising matter be. submit
| ted to at least two members OF the
commission, whose decision in al
cases would be absolute and final In
this amendment the house refused to
concur, on the ground that existence
of a board SO empowered would take
away from the people the righe OF
referendum. The senate refused TO
retract its amendment, with the result
! that the bill passed into limbo
In Oklahoma no attempt was MADE
| to create a board of censorship, but a
bill prohibiting the exploitation OF
( immoral and outlaw regulations" on
the screen attained a majority in the
senate during the last session 1t
failed in the house. There is in tn
state, however, an Informal commit
tee composed of ministers, club women
and civic workers which is usually
consulted before film is exhibited
bearing with any weight on religlous'
racial or criminal issues.
Similar to the Oklahoma measure
was that in Wisconsin which aimed TO
give control of film exhibitions to NO
specially created agency but merely
to define improper screen eXhioltlons
as coming definitely within the scope
of the general act covering the dis
semination of obscene, immoral or
licentious pictures. Another bill, how
ever, introduced at the same session,
attempted to establish the regulation
censorship board. thru a part of the
function of the state industrial COM
mission. The first bill passed the SEN
ate, but due to the pressure OF other
legislation has not come up on the
house calendar.
A variant in such bills was that pro-
posed in Nebraska creating board of
three mem bers mot more than two OF
the same sex" with salaries of $4,000
annually, and providing drastic penal
ties for exhibition of films not pre-
sented to this board for inspection.
The board was to be part of the de-
partment of public welfare.
Somewhat similar was the proposal
made in the Michigan assembly in the
bill providing that censoria1 powers be
vested in the state board OF admins
tration or such other agency as it may
designate (the board, however, to re-
serve the right to act as court of APP
peaD.
Illinois Bill Now Up.
The bill before the Illinois house
would create a state board of five.
not more than three of whom were
members of the same political party,
to be appointed by the governor. for
four-year terms. This bill would ex-
empt from the supervision of the
board such pictures as were sponsored
by religious, fraternal or educational
institutions 1t would attempt to
weed out all films of a "Sacrilegious,
vulgar, indecent, obscene, immoral,
unpa triotic or of such character that
their exhibition would tend to cor
rupt morals or incite to crime" An
other bill before the Illinois assembly
would compel the registration of all
films with the state department OF
registration and education.
Kansas furnishes an old phenome-
non in movie legislation. There is an
old law in Kansas, dating back to
1868. which forbids the Kansan to en-
gage in other than necessary work
on SUNDAYS Now, altho the state
supreme court has ruled that movies
come within the provisions OF this
law, in certain communities no jury
can be obtained to convict violators
of this statute.
Thus it is that Leavenworth and
Atchison and certain other communl-
ties have movies week round while
most of the smaller communities do
not. The very unusual defense Of Sun
dav productions was mGde by one ex-
hibitor who asserted that since pro-
hfbition of his Sunday business would
SO seriously cut into his revenue as to
throw him into bankruptcy, Sunday
exhibitions were necessary"