The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-01-21

WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 21.-The
congress of the United States is now
struggling with the question of fur
Their reform legislation. This time it
is, on the face of it, designed to hit
at horse racing. but as a matter of
fact probably would prevent news
papers from printing sporting news
OF any kind and give one government
agency fairly strong hold on the
press of the country.
Professional reform agencies are &C
lively behind the measure, trying to
defend il from the attacks which have
come from every side. The bill now
is before a subcommittee of the SEN
ate judiciary committee.
There has been expressed before the
committee not only fear of the imme-
date effect of the legislation, II it be-
comes law, but apprehension because
of the general tendency of such legis-
lation There has been freely ex-
pressed to the committee holding the
hearings the opinion that the meas
ure is merely a symptom of the trend
of legislation toward regulating every
| thing in the country, paralyzing one
business after another by putting them
! into governmental straight-jackets.
| Senator Stanley, of Kentucky, one
of the strongest opponents of the bill,
has this to say about the measure:
when you have placed censor
! ship on the freedom of speech and the
/ press, you have not merely invaded
one constitutional right; you have inn
periled them all. Destroy the freedom
of the press, and your hands are UNI
shackled to destroy the freedom of
conscience, immunity from arrest or
any other outrage or act of tyranny
against which the people are not pro-
ltected by constitutional guarantees.
This, the senator thinks, is the worst
phase of the Legislative itch" aff1ict-
ing the country.
! 1t has been pointed out to the com
mittee that passage of the bill, unless
the president vetoeS il, would impose
restrictions on the American press far
more severe than those imposed on
the papers of autocratic Europe at its
worst.
Far-Reaching Effects
The bill would provide that anyone
guilty of sending information through
the mails upon which betting odds
could be based, or of sending the &C
tual odds, could be sent to the peni
Tertiary for a period of five years. A
strict Interpretation of this would
work out SO that a school girl writing
to her parents that she had bet II
|, cents on a basketball game could be-
: imprisoned. Senator Stanley pointed
! out this fact to the committee, anC
added, 1T may be said that the judge:
!, would not impose such severe penal
. ties, but one might be found occasion
; ally who had as little sense as tn,
) senate of the United States"
; Opponents of the alleged censor
! ship bill'' have pointed out repeated,
} that the legislature of any state wher,
racing is permitted could have all thu
; tracks in the state closed within Il
) minutes after the legislature convened
if it was SO desired.
Newspaper publishers and the Amer
lean Newspaper Publishers associa
: ton have been very active in opposi
:, ton to the measure. 1t has been point
ed out by S. L. Thomson, one of tn
officers of this organization, that prot
ably not more than 10 per cent of tn
: papers included in the membership O
the association print racing tips o
any kind. and not more than 20 pc
, cent print racing entries and the re
! suits with betting odds.
Under this law as it is drawn" MI
l Thomson pointed out, 'undersan auto
cratic administration of the post offic
: department, we could no longer safel
print the fact that a notorious embe1
| zler had won 100000 at Latonia, tina
large sums were being wagered on
prize fight, or that on account of larg
sums bet, the faculties of Princeto
o and Harvard had begun an investig;
: ton of betting on football games.