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392 ^> ^> <^> The Motion Picture Industry
dustry by its pictures than by its formulation of principles. It is very difficult to bring oneself to believe that governmental censorship of the sort proposed by some of the more radical groups is desirable. It may well be that we already have too much of regulation. The American people, after all, cannot be legislated into sainthood. Control by minorities is repugnant to our own theory of government. Widely varying standards do exist and will continue to exist and must be recognized. It is sincerely to be hoped that means will be found within the industry itself, as it strives for more entertaining pictures, to eliminate all those things which a certain type of mind responsible for production seems to consider essential to entertainment. It is believed that the industry will do this either voluntarily or under pressure of fear of some form of governmental action. If it does not, it has only itself to blame. No company can afford to keep any director or to release any picture, no matter who or what it is, so long as it adds momentum to the movement for outside regulation — regulation which is very likely to be unsympathetic and lacking in understanding. One thing is certain: If the industry doesn't take steps, society will, and no excuses will satisfy.27
27 Apparently Will H. Hays has reached the same conclusion. (See the Motion Picture Herald, April 29, 1933, pp. 9-10.)
In Child Welfare, January, 1933, Mrs. Robbins Gilman states, "We have tried cooperation with the motion picture industry for twenty-four years without success. . . . The evidence before the public shows the utter futility of all cooperation with these agencies." Consequently, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (Mrs. Gilman is Chairman of the Committee on Motion Pictures of this organization) is to concentrate its attention on the independent production of films for education and recreation.