Evening star., 1934-03-19
MOTION PICTURES
CENSORSHIP IS HIT.
Civil Liberties Union Op-
poses Patman Bill as G.
O. P. Sees Dangers.
By the Associated Press.

ny the Associated Press.
While the Civil Liberties Union to-
day took steps to oppose the Patman
bill to create a Federal motion pic
ture censorship commission, danger
Of press censorship through both leg
islative and administrative branches
Of the Government was seen by Re-
publican Senators in pending moves
In Congress and under the N. r. A.
Opposition to the Patman bill was
voiced in memorial presented by
the National Council on Freedom
From Censorship, a unit of the union
to Chairman Rayburn of the Inter
state Commerce Committee at the
opening of hearings on the bill.
Held Up to Juries.
In the memorial, which was signed
by Elmer Rice. among others, it was
declared that experience has shown
that the best control of obscene mat
ter lies in the hands of juries under
criminal law"
Declaring opposition to bureau
union stated in its memorial that
''juries reflect public standards on
morals far better than professional
censors. Prosecutions are now suffi-
cient control of obscene and indecent
matter in print, paintings or on the
stage. Motion pictures should be no
exception"
Warning that the motion picture
industry would not keep its promise
to improve film standards under the
N r. A. code also was given by
Canon William Sheafe Chase general
secretary of the Federal Motion Pic
ture Council
Clergyman Lacks Support.
The Episcopal clergyman testified
before the House Interstate Commerce
Committee in support of two bills by
Representative Patman of Texas to
place films under Federal regulation.
He said censorship was not wanted
but that the legislation would strength
phasis on the education of children"
Under the N. R. A. code" Canon
Chase said, the industry promises to
give good morality. But when you
take into account the 10 promises
they have made and broken since
1908 you can see why we are diSsatiS-
fed with the code and want a bill
passed to provide needed regulation"
Patman's measures would outlaw
''block booking" under which ex
hibitors are required to take unwanted
films in order to obtain others they
wish to show. Banned from interstate
commerce would be films 'harmfully
portraying" the life and manners Of
any people or race. disrespect for law
or other themes deemed contrary to
high moral principles.
Discussing the dangers of press
censorship, Senator Dickinson Of Iowa
charged in a statement that the sud
den demand of the administration
that all telegraph companies appear
Monday to be placed under a new
N. r. A code is the fourth attempt of
the Roosevelt administration to censor
the press"
Senator Schall, Republican. Of
Minnesota, asserted in a separate
statement the Federal communica-
tionS bill now before House and Sen
ate Interstate Commerce Committees
contained new national libel law,
which can be used to gag the press
OF the United States"
Dickinson said Hugh S. Johnson,
Recovery Administrator, had failed
to force censorship into the newspa-
per code," and was now attempting
to secure the same result by forcing
a censorship on the telegraph COM
panies conveying the news dispatches
to the daily newspapers"
Action by Press Urged.
"Only a united front by the press
OF the Nation can halt this new plan
to gag them" he said The news
papers of the United States must
prevent this fourth attempt to Hitler
ize the press Of the Nation.
The recent reaction to the Roose-
welt failures. together with Col. Lind
tracts cancellation, has made the
Administration desperate. The Ad-
ministration knows that unless it can
prevent the people from reading of
its mala administration, there will be
revolt this Fall at the ballot box.
Their determination to cover up
must be blocked. The people Of the
United States are entitled to know
the truth about what is happening in
Washington"
Schall said the language of the
communications bill was 80 am
biguous" as to make possible the con-
struction that it contained a ma
tional libel law"
"Of course" he said, "since it is
necessary for a telegraph company to
secure a license from this commits
sion before it can operate. this in
itself, since the license is revokable,
is censorship in every sense of the
u0rd -