The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-11-18
Against Censorship.


When certain sef-delegated arbiters OF
public morality are not busy with poht-
zeal campaigns they are trying 10 cellsoI
the press or the stage, or the MOVIES, VI
art, or literature, or whatnot. Vermont
had an example of it when a group OF
two or three ministers tried TO censor the
columns of the Bennington Banner De-
cause they did not approve or Its attltude
on the Volstead act.
If these ministerial meddlers had their
way. they would have an interchurch
hoard. hand-picked and supported at
large expense by the censored. who
would pass upon all questions of what
they consider public morality and would
soon give us an emasculated press and 4
spayed art and literature.
Well. these old ladies of both sexes SoI
TO work in Massachusetts and forced
bill through the legislature for the CEN
sorship of motion pictures. This was
accomplished by the usual methods, per
suasion. preaching and. when necessary:
intimidation. The old arguments Of
morality, Christian standards ana purity
were hurled at the heads of legislators.
and every opponent of this holy cause
was threatened with opprobrium and OBJ
livion.
The bill passed the legislature, but had
a referendum clause which permitted the
people to vote on it. And the people
voted! There We're over half million
votes against censorship and q few over
| 100000 against it. In other words. the
poole of the Bay state repudlated these
would-be censors by a vote OF i've TO two,
the largest vote polled even exceeding
the vote for governor.
The interest of the people in these mat
4 ters Is not merely revolt against hay-
/ ING their amusements subjected 10 the
whims of a board Of censors-3nd censor
/ ship is always stupid. II goes much
/ deeper. If the movies can be censored,
e. 81
| the news films. taken from actual life,
/ can be cenSored-already have been cen
4 sored in fact. If news films, then news
/ papers. and the real cat Is out OF the bag.
What censofs would control is not
/ only the movies or the stage. but the act
/ ual columns Of the press, the freedom Of
/ which is guaranteed by the federal con-
stitution, the constitution of Vermont
+ and OF practically every state in the
/ union. But when reformers set out
/ nowadays, their first objective Is the
+ federal constitution. the sacredneSs OF
which only appeals TO them after they
/ have, by such methods as the foregoing.
! succeeded in amending To suit themselves.
The methods of amendment lend
themselves TO this sort OF folly, and
unless they are speedily checked by an
1 amendment which would require all flu
4 ture amendments TO be submitted TO the
/ people all that will remain of the consti-
/ tuition. state or federal, viii be some dig
nified English sentences of no effect
/ whatever.
| The time TO check such encroachments
| is at their beginning, for the moment
! that censorship becomes a fixed policy of
/ either state or nation that moment sees
! free speech and the right 10 criticize the
transactions of government menaced and
/ curtailed.
Meanwhile, there is law enough to
/ stop the exhibition OF any picture or the
/ printing of any article that subverts pub
/ lie morality.