Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-22
MANYSTORESSELL
SALAC|OUS PAPERS
Survey of Outlying Sections
Shows Many Offered, Often
Prominently Displayed.


Although the renewed cTuS'auo
against the sale Of obscene magazines
has had telling effect within the first
"a hours after it's opening, one need
be neither q Holmes nor Watson
to find dozens of newsstands and
drug stores in virtually every section
of Washington Offering salacious pc
riodicals for sale.
They are of all varieties, too. Some
specialize in pictorial features, show
ing nude female figures in an album
dance of poses, which some crafty
vendors carefully displayed in their
windows to attract trade. Others de-
vote their entire space to flaming
literature" And a few seek to cor
ner the market by printing both art"
and literature"
A reporter for The Star visited
scattered sections of Washington to-
day. In the first few districts he
made purchases of dozen or more
periodicals which have been declared
unlawful In other sections he mere
ly examined the magazines that were
offered for public sale. And he dis
covered that published indecency
need not be sought far anywhere.
Many Sellers Make Displays.
In all fairness, it should be stated
that the traffic in lewd periodicals is
nothing like as vigorous as 1t was
this time last year, when The Star
waged a campaign against IT. But
the fact remains that number OF
newsstands and some drug stores are
openly defying the law by not only
having such literature and pictorial
magazines for sale, but displaying
them more advantageously than de-
cent periodicals.
One drug store in the southeast Sec
ton OF Washington selected two 80
called "art" magazines, opened them
to the most revolving pictures within
the cover and hung them In their
windows to attract trade. Others were
carefully displayed beside the soda
fountain, where boys and girls con.
gregate. Observation disclosed that
the vendors were as tndiscriminate
in selecting their patrons as in pick
ing their wares.
Young Girl Buys One.
While the reporter stood there two
girls. possibly II or 10 years old, came
in. They were typical fiappers. Both
ordered ice cream sodas and whil0
they slipped them surveyed the array
of art" and literature" that had
been so carefully spread out before
them. One purchased a. Confessions"
magazine; the other contented herself
with examining one of the art" Pc
riodicals and returning 1t to it's rack
1t seemed fair to conclude that SINH
lar incidents must frequently occur In
all parts of Washington. Investiga.
tons invariably show that vendors of
such magazines seek stands in places
close to where young people of both
sexes gather. There are several par.
ticularly extensive stocks of such
periodicals near Central High School,
for instance. And near dance places,
too.
At least two of the magazines that
We're declared Objectionable have dis.
appeared from most Of the news
stands. Three places, however, out Of
the dozen visited had ample supplies
Of them. These dealers all took the po-
sition that the police should specifi-
cally Instruct them what magazines
they could sell and which they could
not. Matters Of censorship should rot
be left to them, they declared.
Hesse Holds Different View.
Maj. Hesse, superintendent of the
Police Department, sees this situation
from an entirely different point of
view, however. He believes sufficient
publicity has beer given the matter
to let person even of mediocre in
telligence know what is lawful and
what is not. No sane person, he de-
clared, can find anything but vulgarity
in most of the art" magazines that
are published today.
THE only persons I shall notify"
Maj. Hesse said yesterday, ARE my
T xui1 fnl1 ~,
zines we intend to ban. They are to
arrest vendors Of these publications
summarily. There will be no more
warnings, no more lists. We will be
ready in a very short while now, and
MY last word to newsstand dealers and
others in the trade is to take stock
and return to the wholesale houses the
questionable books
With this view District Attorney
Peyton Gordon is fully in accord. He
feels that the time for leniencey
passed last Summer and the hour for
action has arrived. AS in the last
crusade, he has been besieged BY
wholesale magazine dealers. He has
told them they must decide the ques-
ton Of decency for themselves or
take a chance on the courts doing 1t
for them at a price ranging from
800 up.
One Dealer to Stop Sale.
Zone of these dealers told me he
was not going to take any chances"
Maj. Gordon said. He declared he
would bundle up all Of his objection
able magazines and ship them to Bal
timore. That is outrageous. We
don't want to clean up just Washing.
ton: we want to put a stop to this
traffic everywhere. am looking up
the law now to see whether or not I
can't prosecute that man under the
interstate commerce laws.
1t seems to me that we might do
well to get in communication with the
Maryland authorities. Surely they do
not want filth dumped from Washing.
ton into Baltimore. We have gained
little If we merely drive indecency
from our city to a neighboring one.
1t is like saving cur household at the
expense Of others. There must be
some way of reaching this traffic and
| should like to see a real fight made
Of this