Evening star., 1944-01-21
Injunction Suit Filed
BY Esquire 10 Retain
Mailing Privileges

Asserting that Postmaster General
Walker acted arbitrarily and ca
priciously" when he ordered Es-
quire magazine banned from use OF
the second-class mails, attorneys for
the magazine today filed the long
threatened suit for an injunction
against carrying out the order.
The suit points out that Mr.
Walker issued his order, which
would become effective February %,
after a three-man hearing board
appointed by him had recommended
2 to l, that proceedings against the
publication be dismissed. The ban,
the suit charges. is contrary to law
and Ito the established practice of
the Post Office Department and the
Postmaster General"
Mr.. Walker also was charged with
having ignored the record of the
merits of the case and of proceed
ing solely to compel court review
of the meaning of the statute which
covers second-class mailing privi-
leges.
Charges Walker MiscOnstrued Law
The statute provides that publica-
tions may avail themselves Of the
cheaper Second-class rates If they
are Originated and published fol-
the dissemination of Information
of public character or devoted tc
literature, sciences, arts or some
special industry" the suit points
out. Mr.. Walker, however, it is
charged, misconstrued the law ir
that, among other errors, he de-
termined that the statutory Ian
guage should be limited to such in
formation as might be con-
sidered by him to be for the public
good and the public welfare
Attorneys for the magazine con-
tended that the ban, if allowed to
stand, would threaten the existence
OF the publication. 1t was pointed
out that it now costs $112,8OO a year
to send the magazines through the
mails at Second-class rates. but that
1t would cost about $624. 900 a year
to use fourth-class mails. Esquire,
according to the suit, has a news
stand circulation of 100000 and a
subscription list of 100000.
Order Followed 3-Week Hearing.
The Postmaster Generals order
came after a three-week hearing,
during which attorneys for both the
magazine and the Government
brought in dozens of witnesses rep
resenting all walks of life to give
their opinions as to whether the
ell-advertised Varga Girl and sun
dry other features of the magazine
were obscene. The hearing board
eventually agreed with the witnesses
produced by Esquire that the supple
maiden made famous by Mr.. Varga
and other cartoons and articles to
which the Post Office had taken
exception were not indecent and so
reported to Mr. Walker.
Mr.. Walker, however, ignored the
data on obscenity in issuing his
order and held that the magazine
simply was not of the nature intend
ed by Congress to the special privi-
leges of the second-class mails be-
cause it was not distributed prin-
cipally for the dissemination OF mat
ter of public character or for the
arts, sciences, literature or special
industry.
In its suit today Esquire held that
its pages met the requirements OF
the law in all these categories. The
magazine was devoted in part, il
said, to the special industry of cloth
ing.
The suit asks both a temporary
and permanent injunction and petit
tions the court to compel Mr.. Walker
to produce the entire record of the
proceedings before the special post
Office tribunal.
The suit was filed by Hugh Lynch
jr.. in behalf of John F. Harding OF
New York of the firm of Cravath, De
Gersdorff, Swaine g. Wood.