Evening star., 1955-02-12
3De|egates TO Fight
Maryland Law on
Newsree| Censoring
By Gene Goodwin
Star Staff Correspondent


members of the House OF
Delegates plan an assault on
Maryland's movie censorship law
Monday in an attempt to exempt
newsreels from its jurisdiction.
They said they will attempt
to amend movie censorship bill
up for final passage in the House
Monday night. The bill. which
has already passed the Senate,
would bring the Maryland law
into line with recent Supreme
Court decisions by repeating the
authority of State movie cenSors
to ban inns they view as "sacri-
legious, indecent, inhuman or
immoral"
The House yesterday adopted
q favorable report of its Judi
ciary Committee on the censor
ship bill. When the bill was in
committee, an amendment ex-
empting newsreels was asked by
Sidney Lust. Washington area
movie exhibitor, but was rejected
by a majority of the committee.
All 3 Are Democrats.
The three House members who
said they will try to win ap-
proval of Mr.. Lust's suggestion
are Delegates Jerome Robinson
of Baltimore and Carlton r.
Sickles and Lansdale G. Sasscer.
jr., of Prince Georges County, all
Democrats.
Sidney R. Traub, chairman of
the State Board of Motion Pic
ture CensorS, told the committee
earlier this week that newSreelS
should remain under his agency's
jurisdiction because they bring
In about $4,000 a year in fees
paid by newsreel producers.
Mr.. Robinson said censorship
of newsreels is the same as CEN
soring newspapers and is there
fore a violation of the constitu-
tional provision for freedom of
the press. He pointed out that
newsreels shown on television are
not subject to Maryland's censor
ship and that Mr.. Traub himself
conceded that he had never had
to delete anything from news
reels in his term as chairman.
The bill before the Legislature,
which Mr.. Traub calls a ere
affirmation of Maryland's belief
in censorship" would retain pro-
visions for State censors to ban
films they consider obscene or
those that tend to debase or
corrupt morals or incite to
crimes"
Other Developments.
In other developments before
the Legislature yesterday:
The Senate Finance Commit
tee gave a favorable report to
a measure to raise the annual
salary of Prince Georges Cir
cult Court Clerk w. Waverly
Webb from $500 to $4,000, but
also voted favorably on a meas
ure to let the State Board of
Public Works set Circuit Court
clerks salaries throughout Mary
land with minimum of $4,000
and a maximum of $4,000 al
lowed.
Delegate Margaret c. Schwein-
haut, Democrat, of Montgom-
cry, joined with Mr.. Rob-
inson in sponsoring three bills
aimed at improving the States
handling of juvenile mat
ters. The three measures, among
several recommended by the So
called Miles commission on ju-
dicial administration, would pro-
vide for:
/. Employment of masters or
experts to aid county Circuit
Court judges in dealing with
juvenile delinquency cases.
2. Appointment of a perma-
nent youth board to study juve-
nile delinquency problems.
3. Transfer of control of the
four State training schools from
the present independent boards
of managers to the State Board
of Public Welfare, along with an
increase from nine to 13 mem
bers of this board.
Senate Majority Leader John
G. Turnbull introduced at the
request of a Reisterstown con-
stituent a bill authorizing an ex-
emption from county or city real |
estate taxes for persons who send |
their children to private or pa
rochial schools. The exemption
would be computed ON a COM
plicated formula based on the
average cost of educating chill
dren in public schools.