Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-05-14
BAN 1O.SALAC|OUS
MAGAZINES IN D. c.
Forty More Are Under Scru-
tiny-Gordon to Prosecute
to the Limit.

Washington newsdealers were to-
day furnished a preliminary list con-
tanning the names of 10 popular
priced magazines which United States
District Attorney Peyton Gordon has
ordered banned from sale in the Dis
trict of Columbia as obscene and in
decent" publications, and every dis
tributor found displaying them for
public consumption, beginning the LIST
of next week, is TO be prosecuted ito
the limit
40 Under Scrutiny.
Thus far Maj. Gordon has not had
time to examine the literary merits
of close to 40 more maya zines that
are lying on his desk awaiting ap-
prevail or disapproval, which means
complete Punishment from the city
If the prosecutor considers them vi
olations of the District code. All
of the publications ordered with
drawn from sale up to the present
were banned because of their art"
pictures.
The district attorney will examine
the stories in the remaining books,
and wherever there is evidence of in
decency he will bar them from sale in
the National Capital. too. Maj. Cor
don, it was made plain, did not con-
stitute himself an official censor, but
was asked by the newsdealers to pass
judgment on their wares, to spare
them the expense and humiliation of
prosecution in the Criminal Court,
which had already been planned in
several instances.
At the same time Maj. Gordon sent
a letter to Acting Supt. of Police
Evans, in which he made plain his
views regarding salacious literature
and lewd art" He asked the fullest
cooperation of the enforcement branch
OF the District government in sweep
ing Washington clean Of the mass of
febscene publications that have liter
|ally cluttered its newsstands during
the past year. To this appeal, 1t was
announced, the Police Department will
respond Immediately.
Dealers May Clean House"
The district attorney declared to-
day that he believes the distributors
and dealers will clean their own
house, now that they have a guide as
to what is legal and what is illegal
in the matter of literature and art.
He does not think 1t will be neces-
sary to press prosecutions and will
give the proprietors of newsstands
every opportunity of Withdrawing the
forbidden publications already in cir
culation and refraining from broad
casting later editions.
1T seems to me that the first of
next week would be sufficient time
for the distributors to inform their
clients of the publications we have
found to be unlawful from the stand
point of indecency," Maj. Gordon
said. "In the meantime l shall sur
vey as many of the others as posi-
BILE. We will keep the ball rolling
right along, but 1 intend to prosecute
without mercy every dealer who con-
tinues to sell the publications we
have, found to be plainly unlawful.
Office Not Censor.
This Office is not setting out to be
an official censor. The distributors
asked us to do this to help them, and
l believe they are honest and sincere
in their intentions, and that eventu-
ally Washington will be rid of obscene
magazines. If there are any who
would prefer to know the Criminal
Courts views on the subject, however,
we are ready to accommodate them. l
was amazed at conditions when we
began our investigation. 1 never
dreamed this thing had become such
menace. And it is going to stop
right here, and stop for good"
In the meantime, every policeman
In the city has been instructed to
watch the newsstands on their beats
and see that salacious books, pam.
phlets. magazines and photographs are
removed from sale immediately. No
let-up is to follow the crusade that ha s
been started, and the necessity for con.
tinuing the vigil will be impressed
upon policemen regularly. Oficers
have been ordered to obtain copies of
publications they consider indecent
and submit them to the district attor-
ney for ruling. If they are regarded
as indecent. prosecutions will follow
Immediately