Motion Picture Story Magazine (Feb 1914 - Sep 1916 (assorted issues))

THE GREAT DEBATE 69 By the new tariff law, Congress has provided that all Motion Picture films that are imported from foreign countries shall first be censored under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury. Will Congress be less conscientious in the exercise of its interstate -power than of its power over the importations from foreign lands? The Federal law should forbid any unlicensed film to be carried between the States. The statutes of the United States forbid immoral pictures in the Territories and the sending of any obscene, lewd or lascivious pictures or other matter of an indecent character thru the U. S. mails. It is clearly improper for the copyright office to grant a copyright to any immoral picture, for an illegal article can have no property value nor existence in law. Congress ought to act effectively to prevent interstate traffic in illegal articles. Some States, such as Ohio, California and Kansas, have already inaugurated State Boards of Censorship. These and other States should cooperate with the Federal Censorship, when inaugurated, in such a way as properly to safeguard the development of the life of their children. Pictures which make robbery attractive and show clever ways of eluding detectives, which ridicule teachers and policemen, which convey the impression that married people are seldom faithful to their marriage vows, that sexual sins are universal and harmless, which depict cruelty and make the details of crime attractive, should be declared by the law of the State to be unlawful to be shown in any licensed place of amusement — at least during hours wiien young children attend. It is claimed, however, that many pictures which are harmless for adults are dangerous for children, and that "Better that adults should be restrained in their amusements, than that the children should be demoralized and corrupted." it is unreasonable to refuse to let pictures be shown merely because they are bad for children, and thus rob adults of their rightful amusement. The truth is, that it is better that adults should be restrained in their jiiniisements rather than that the children of the nation should be demoralized and corrupted. But this difficulty can be remedied in each State by arranging that films suitable for adults but not for children may only be shown after 8 o'clock in the evening, when children should be forbidden to attend, except with the parents or guardian. But when I speak of censorship, I do not use the word censor in the Roman sense, as inaugurated in the Roman Republic in the fifth century before Christ and restored in the most degen erate days of the Empire in a vain attempt to stop a flood of vice. In the Roman sense, the two censors, acting together, had an arbitrary power from which there was no appeal. I use the word "censoring" in the English sense of "licensing." The Censor is the Licenser. The licensing power of the Government is exercised where ordinary persons are liable to be deceived and misled in the purchase or use of articles of merchandise, especially where there is danger to life and morals in the use of the illegal articles. After an official inspection, those articles, places or persons which are found to conform to a legally fixed standard, are granted a license. But the refusal to grant a license cannot be arbitrary, for there is always a right to appeal from the decision of the inspector or licenser. The growth of the license system has been a very noticeable feature of recent years to meet the new social conditions, and to take the place of special legislation. As society be