Motion Picture Commission : hearings before the Committee on Education, House of Representatives, Sixty-third Congress, second session, on bills to establish a Federal Motion Picture Commission (1978)

MOTION PICTURE COMMISSION. 207 " Be it enacted, etc., That the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, in addition to the police powers now vested in them, be, and they are hereby, em- powered and directed to prevent the exhibition of obscene, lewd, indecent, or vulgar pictures in any theater, moving-picture show, or other public place of amusement in the District of Columbia, and to make all needful and neces- sary regulations for such purpose. " Sec. 2. That no picture tilm or picture intended for exhibition in any such theater, show, or other public place of amusement shall be exhibited without previous submission to the said commissioners for investigation and approval) and be approved, found, and determined by said commissioners, after oppor- tunity to be heard, not to be obscene, lewd, indecent, or vulgar. Every viola- tion of this act or of any i-egulation made under the authority hereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $40, on prosecution by information in the police court of the District of Columbia, filed in the name of said District of Columbia by the corporation counsel or any of his assistants." You will observe that the second section of this act requires the submission of any film or picture intended for exhibition to your board for investigation and approval before being exhibited. In view of the large number of moving- picture shows in the city, this would seem to require an examination by the commissioners daily of hundreds of moving-picture films. The necessity for such detailed supervision of these shows and the manner in which it is to be exercised, are matters about which I should like to be advised. I assume that the investigation required by the act would be made through the police depart- ment. If so, it would seem that the time of quite a number of policemen for an hour or so a day would be required in attending these shows. If such be the case, the wisdom of the legislation in question may be doubted, there apparently being no need for such a detailed .supervision of moving-picture shows, as my ob- servation has been that, in the great majority of cases, such pictures are unob- jectionable, and it apparently would be a waste of time for the commissioners to undertake to examine every film; and if the police are to be employed for this purpose, it would unnecessarily deprive the city of their services in the way of patrol duty, the inadequacy of which is already the subject of complaint. It would seem that the matter could be dealt with sufficiently by simply pro- hibiting, under a penalty, the exhibition of obscene, lewd, indecent, or vulgar pictures, omitting the prior inspection. Of course, these are merely matters of first impression, as I have no definite information on the subject; but I wish to call them to your attention, and to request that you submit to the President, through the Attorney General, a report on the merits of the bill. I suggest this procedure because the time in which the bill must be approved or disapproved is limited. For the Attorney General. Respectfully. W. R. Harr, Assistant Attorney General. Executive Office Commissioners of the District of Columbia, Washington, February 3, 1913. Hon. George W. Wickersham, Attorney General. Sir: The Commissioners of the District of Columbia have received the letter of Hon. William R. Harr, Assistant Attorney General, under date of Januai'y 31, 1913, in reference to Senate bill 2G00, entitled: "An act to authorize the Commissioners of the District of Columbia to prevent the exhibition of obscen?, lewd, indecent, or vulgar pictures in public places of amusement in the District of Columbia," with the request that they submit to the President, through the Attorney General, a report upon the merits of the bill. Conditions have greatly changed since the commissioners recommended the passage of this bill; prepared and introduced nearly three years ago. At the present time it is found that pictures and films are devoted largely to educa- tional subjects and the like, prove sufficiently remunerative to the exhibitors, and that there is very little tendency to exhibit films of Jiii objectionable character. The supervision exercised by the commissioners has been found adequate, and the exhibitors of films and pictures have shown themselves to be entirely amendable to the suggestions and control of the connnissioners.