The Washington times., 1933-04-18

T. 1and some half dozen others published in the past
year) know what sensitive and conventional people
mean when they say that book is dirty Few books
actually perhaps do not react senstivey to dirt
in print.
No Choice?
The out-and-out opponents of censorship not at lib
ery to choose between these two books They have to
defend the they despse heartily as they defend
the one they admire Their good argument is that vic
tory for Mr. Sumner the cheap and trivial book will
give him to march against the serious and
intelligent This is true because Mr. Sumner is unfit
to exercise censorship especially in society which has
not made up its mind about the proper limitations and
the proper functions of censorship. Having met Mr..
Sumner in full magistrates court and knowing his mind
and his methods see the advantage OF defeating MN
all down the line; that I regret giving him any aid
!" whatever.
>, Down to Cases
The practical problem, however, is to preserve the
freedom of those who are capable of using freedom.
It may be good thing in theory to abolish all limiting
laws and for that purpose it may be useful to defend
the printer of pornographc postcards; in practice
would sacrifice thousand purveyors of wful dirt if
could allow the works of James Joyce to enter ports
openly and Erskne Caldwell to publish Goods Little
Acre" without running the risk of prosecution have
heard often enough that freedom must be absolute free
dom, and that if set up my standard of latitude have
right to protest against Mr.. Sumner doing the
But not fighting literary Scottsboro case; am
not even much interested in abstract Justice
The effectiveness of the censorship broke down
about five years ago, when several decisions went
against Mr.. Sumner and it proved that juries
would not uphold his attacks. The result has been
greater freedom for sound artists and of
considerable of this freedom by those who have
other talent than that of stringing together few
shocking Naturally, Mr. Sumner returns to the
battle, smelling smoke and crying Fire. My sigma
ture has gone down protest because think that
Mr.. Summers effrontery should be checked again.
from the other abstain because think if I signed
both should weaken the in which I am inter-
ested. Mr.. Sumner is agile bird, and you can't
afford to waste shot if you going to bring him low
A Powerful Book
miss Lonelyhearts" by Nathaniel West, is pre-
cisely the kind of book which might not have been
written and could not have been published if the world
of letters lived eternally in fear of the 1t has
a humor, it is savage and disturbing. Mr..
West has used his freedom to present strange and
complicated psychological case: the of young
who falls into the job of giving advice to the love-
lorn and who, like similar hero of Aldous Huxley,
lives tortured life himself.
know nothing of Mr.. West except that he yaung
and American. It seems to that he knows, better
than most young men, what he wants to accomplish
and that he manage the tools of his trade with
competence. Part of his story is buresque-par
able; part of it is matter-of-fact a newspaper
story of a biting dog. The juncture of these
two elements is not always smooth but the strange
novel which results has exceptional power. If this
. column not dedicated today to Mr. Sumner l
would recommend the book quite freely. To enlight-
ened adults.