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name to the National Board of Review, believing this title to be more in keeping with, and symbolic of, its purpose, which it stated as being "selection" and not "censorship" of films. The Board then organized the Better Films National Council, whose function was "both to liberate and formulate thought regarding motion pictures, their uses and possibilities and the best way to achieve a free screen of a most desirable kind". It sought to accomplish this by furnishing a leadership which placed at the disposal of women's clubs, religious and social groups, and others working on the problem of film regulation, advance information regarding the better and the exceptional films. It supplied this information through correspondence and by the publication of a weekly bulletin. The Council stated its policy to be primarily one of "selecting the best" pictures and "ignoring the rest".
That the National Board of Review and its constituent committees failed to satisfy the demands for censorship of all groups may be gleaned from the texts of the numerous articles published by such organizations as the Federal Motion Picture Council of America, Inc., and the International Reform Federation. Some of the charges made specifically against the Board were that it deceived the public by posing as a governmental body, that it was subsidized by producers, and, what constituted the most fundamental criticism, that its work had not prevented the exhibition of films of alleged immoral character.
The New York State Legislature in 1916 passed a censorship lav/ which was vetoed by the governor. In 1917, the New York Legislature conducted a motion picture investigation, the findings of which indicated that immoral pictures were being produced. The commission for the investigation recommended legal restraint. During 1919, the National Association of the Motion Picture Industry, which represented a majority of the producers and distributors, voted to censor its own films and thereby endeavor to meet the demands of the reform groups.
By 1921, the industry was again confronted with an or