BOOKS CENSORED

Evening Star, Issue 20511, 16 June 1930, Page 15

BOOKS CENSORED

- AMERICAN DECISION in TO SHAKtSPEARE After twelve hours of fervid discussion of censorship of obscene hooks and pictures imported into tho United States, the United States Senate adopted without a roll-call tho Smoot amendment, slightly modified, extending the present law to make disriefc courts the final arbiters of obscenity in literature and art, and treasonable publications, says the ‘ New York 'Times.’ .’his action upset the Cutting^amendment, agreed to by the Senate in Committee of the Whole last autumn, which eliminated hooks from censorship. It creates for the first time a real censorship by judge and jury, and takes from the Customs officials and the Treasury tho authority to decide what is obscene or immoral.

The censorship fight was led vigorously by Senator Smoot, chairman of tho Finance Committee. At one time he said, a book like some of those piled upon his desk, which had been under his scrutiny and that of his colleagues, could only be written 11 by a man with a diseased i ind and a soul so black that he would ovei obscure the dr ’.ness of hell.” He added:-- " Npbotlv would write a book like

that unless his heart wr. just as rotten and us black as it possibly could bo.”

Tho debate covered questions ranging from the difference 1 between heaven and hell, to whether x righam Young’s essays would come under tho ban. It ended a discussion w l 'eh began one night, and continued through the whole of the following day, which involved a comparison of Shakospeu-e with 4 Lady Chatterley’s Lover,’ and raised issn as to whethher Rabelais was worse than certain magazines sold at railway stations. At times considerable acrimony' was shov n. Senat Gutting, Republican, of New Mexico, supporting liberal censor laws, occupied the attention of the Senate for i -arly throe hours. He replied to Senator Smoot, who the previous night defended d-astic censorship of obscene i,. iratur .

_ At the outset Mr Cutting road an article by Professor Noilson, which urged no Government censorship, and declared that the individual ought to decide what book he wished io mid.

NERO, WAS :.;ESiGNED. Mr Cutting said that the States were better dual died to decide what book should bo circulated than the reden. Government.He recalled tha Nero tried to place a censdrship on Roman authors and gave it up, saying: ' Authors of bad and vile books will quickly fall int oblivion if their works are to bo obtained freely.” What Mr Cutting said represented the epitome of censorship from Nero’s time to the present day. Discussing one of the umod books, ‘Lady Cba e.ley’s Lover,’ by D. H. Lawrence,, the New Mexico Senator said it vas rather dull, and indicated that it would not bo sough, after if Senator Smoot had not declared that it was a bad book. • “ Read • extracts from ‘Lao, Chat-tm-ley's Lover ’ into the record,” interrupted Senator .“moot. “ I will get to that later,” Setor Cuting replied. “ May T say if ‘ Lady GhatterJev ’ is -calculated to contamina J > the American ocople. the blame rests with Senator Smoot. ”

Senator Smoot replied that if his amendment ..ere adopted there would be no more of such books imported into the United States. Children read books in their schoolday period, Senator Cutting said, that' were just as indecent as the one referred to by Senator Smoot. “The first page of ‘King Lear’ is grossly indecent, and the ToVc scenes of Hand and Ophelia are coarse and obscene,” tbo S' ator said. “ Did not the Senator read ‘ Lady Chatterley’s Love'- ’ aim’d to Senators yesterday?” ask"d Mr Cutting. Senator Snr-ofc angrily that be bad not. “KNOWLEDGE OF AFFAIRS.” Senator Cutting said that lie objected to making Customs ofirinls arbiters of the books tho American people should read, as proposed in the Smoot amendment. Senator Smoot had j declared that these men “had know-1 lodge of world affairs.” j “Knowledge of world affairs and' literature reposes in these officials,”

i ' Senator Cutting said. “Yes, IheknowI | ledge most of them has is how to get I ! from the Bowery to the piers, and to j open trunks and leave them in '-on- ■ fusion. And this, Senator Smoot says. ! qualifies them to bo the judges of world literature!” The New Mexico Senator told of a Baltimore deputy collector who had prohibited the books of Rabelais coming into Baltimore. This official, George W. Hill, testified, Senator Cutting said, that he bad not read much and was not able to answer whether Glimmer, Fio'ding, and Smollett were still liv'ng. I Tn addition to the Cartons officials,the censorship of 'ast resort reefs with J. D. Novins and Assistant Secretary |of the Treasury Lowman. These officials pass upon tho action of the Customs officials who ban the importation of decent boohs, Mr Cutting said, j “ While they are all estimable gentlcI men, I do not believe that any Senator j who knows them would consent that they should dictate the selection for In’s library,” lie added,

PUBLICATIONS CRITICISED. "Mr President,” said Senator Cutting, “wo have denounced foreign hooks for a long time. Ido hot think' the foreign countries have very much on ns in the way of indecent literature. From a railway bookstall in Chicago the other day I purchased these important works, which I now exhibit to the Senate.” _ Mr Cutting then gave a list of magazines ho had bought. “Unlike the Senator from Indiana, I am hot going to circulate these books among the members of the Senate.” Senator Cutting went on. “ I think that the standards of the State ought to be maintained. Tdo not think any risk should bo run of corrupting the morals of this honourable body. “I have looked these magazines through casually, and I consider them far more indecent in every way than any of the literature accumulated last night on tho desk of the Senator from Indiana.” .In the course of the discussion, Senator'Cutting accused Senator Smoot of having taken some hours to read * Lady Chatterly’s Lover.’ Senator Smoot angrily denied he had taken ten minutes on the book, outside the opening pages. Senator Cutting then discussed tho Bible, and said some of its passages, read alone, could bo misconstrued. Ho said a book had to bo read as a whole. Senator Smoot, however, was not to be diverted from ‘Lady Chatterly’s Lover.’ Ho declared “it was written by a man with a diseased mind .and a soul so black that he would oven obscure the darkness of hell.” , IN SHAKESPEARE. ) Senator Cutting said that he could ■ show Senator Smoot in Shakespeare “all of tho matters which are contained in the extracts of the so-called ob’eationabio books.” . ■ “ I have read Shakespeare, and there is no more comparison between what is in Shakespeare and what is in the bnn’rs for which tho Senator ; s speaking now than there is between heaven and ho’l,” replied Senator Enroot. "‘ I would ho much interested to have the Senator from Utah tell, mo the difference between heaven and hell,” Senator Columns interrupted. “ I have not been able to get any definition of it.” Grouping themselves under the banner of censorship, Senators Trammell of i Florid,al Please of South Carolina, MMvollar of Tennessee, and Heflin ‘of ■

Alabama engaged in a lengthy debate with Senator Wheeler of Montana. Senator Blease was particularly comcerned by a statement by Senator Wheeler that Josiah Moss, whom he believes to be a professor at the University of South Carolina, has pronounced such censorious legislation dangerous. If Mr Moss is a professor at the university of his State, Senator Blease said, and “if he made such a statement,” tho South Carolina member promised the_ members that he would not remain in his position for thirty days. “I am against the intolerance that is constantly put forward on the floor of this Senate,” Senator Wheeler said, adding that “it is easy to advocate appeals to the passions and prejudices of tho people.” Among those who are against censorship Senator Wheeler _ named Dr Nicholas Murray Butler, Bishop M‘Connell, of the Methodist Church, tho Rev. Henrv Sloan Coffin, the Harvard and, Cornell faculties, the editor of ‘Scribner’s Magazine.’ and other authorities whom he quoted. “Does anyone think that these want to destroy the Government of this country?” he asked. Senator ' Blease asked if Senator Wheeler was aware that Dr Butler had advocated reneal of tho Eighteenth Amendment and had been reported to bo an advocate of violation of the Prohibition laws. “If wo’vo come to a place where we can’t advocate tho repeal of statutes without having our characters attacked we have come to_ a pretty pass, answered Senator Wheeler.