Evening star., 1925-07-02
Inspection Of Additional Magazines on
ID. c. Stands Made,

That Washington newsstands still
display lascivious magazines. which
should be permanently banned from
public sale was the unanimous verdict
OF the committee Of representative
men and women that has been sur.
veying the problem of literary in.
decency in the National Capital.
A meeting of the committee was
called yesterday in the office of Jesse
c. Suter, president of the Federation
of Citizens Associations, and was at.
tended by Miss Sarah e. Simons, head
of the English department of public
schools; James T. Lloyd retiring
president of the Board of Education
and Rev. DR.. w. L. Darby, executive
secretary Of the Washington Fedora.
ton of Churches.
At that meeting the committee
members compared notes, checked up
minor differences, and came to the
conclusion that, although there has
been marked improvement in the mat
ter Of published obscenity here since
| the fight was begun against It, the sit.
| uation Is still serious enough to war
rant summary action. With that in
view, Mr.. Suter will visit District At
torney Peyton Gordon tomorrow and
submit some suggestions.
Most of Magazines Banned.
OF the eight or ten magazines given
the committee members to read, only
one or two were given a clean bill
of health. Some of the others were
admitted to be "borderline" periodi.
Gals, which merely insinuated indecent
| narrations. The remainder, however
were declared to be clear-cut viola
| tions of the law and a class of litera-
| ture that should be driven not only
| from Washington, but from the coun.
| try at large.
| Mr.. Suter found that three or four
! of the magazines were particularly
| repulsive in their deliberate attempts
| to present not only disgusting situa.
tions concerning young girls, but to
picture conditions that are too ridicu
| lous to be considered as within the
probability of ever having actually
occurred, as the nature Of the publ
cations would lead the reader to be
| lieve. The felony of indecency, II
| is held, is compounded by untruth
fulness.
Invitations to immortality.
ITO my mind" said Mr.. Suter
| some magazines are open invitations
morality. To go even further,
think they openly encourage such a
proposition. That is a dangerou.
situation. Several of these publica
tions are all right from the stand
| point of morality. Their jokes are
crude and their style of literature
| cheap, but / do not think they could
be calculated seriously to menace
public morals"
DR.. Darby's decision was about tn.
same as that of Mr.. Suter. One
thing stressed by both committee
members, however, that even in tht
| publications passed on tho question
| of their morals the country's dry
| laws are held up to ridicule ever,
time the opportunity offers, and
| sometimes when it does not. Viola
ton of the law IL frankly encouraged
and enforcement officials are made
| the butts of very crude Jokes"
| Only Ono Fit to Read.
Miss Simons declared that she found
| only one magazine among those given
her which could be declared even
passably At for high school students
Although she would never recommend
that lone exception as suitable litera,
ture for well bred persons, she de.
clared she believed 1t could not b<
classed with the strictly immora
periodicals, of which she found there
are still far too many offered for sal,