National Board of Review magazine (1942)

Alarch-April, Xineteeii Ticctily-six books, magazines, catalogs, leaflets, government documents, pictures, stereoscopic sets, victrola records, lantern slides, physiographic models, physiologic charts, statuettes, costumed dolls, stuffed birds, manikins, mineralogic specimens, herbariums — what you will. Why not films? I belong to two institutions — a library and a mu-seum, and T assure you that a librarian can becrtme a museum assistant overnight. When I recommend you to the use of print, I charge the library for my time; to objects, I charge the museum: to both, I split the bill. Oh, the library can do it. Moreo\er, tlie librarian can be trusted to do it. There is sometiiing about motion pictures tliat reminds one of booze. Whoever touches either seems at once to be under suspicion. There are people who, if you say you think the motion picture does more good than harm, ask who is paying you. I've had experience of this sort. "Our children are our precious jewels. Appoint a censor. What? You don't approve of censorship? Oh, Bribery! Oh, Corruption !" But nobody will suspect the librarian. There are stupid librarians, cross librarians, lazy librarians, ignorant librarians, but there is not a person in the United States who would accuse any librarian of accepting a bribe to pass or push this or that bad motion picture. Yes, there are whole classes of people like that. They have arrived by the upper road of reason at the point which all the ants have reached by the lower road of instinct. Here are two ants. One is full: the other is empty. Says the empty ant to the full ant, "Say! I am hungry!" Says the full ant to the empty ant, "Pray help yourself!" and he regurgitates for the delectation of his hungry brother, whom perchance, he has never met before. Will you please imagine that happening on Fifth Avenue I NOW that is the intent of God so far as I know along the line of development of the civilization of the ant and the reason it can be done is that the ant has the instinct for labor and the instinct for giving nicely balanced through all the generations. As far as we are concerned, we have the instinct to grab more developed than the instinct to give, through the generations, so we won't get at it that way, but what are the ministers doing but preaching with all their power to get us to do it another way and a better way, consciously choosing. I call your attention to the fact that throughout the ages, in all climes and countries, there have been people like the ant, who belonging to the order of Melchisedek, prove it in all sorts of ways. In the East, in the Orient, they go up into the caverns and starve themselves to death, and live ni deathly sqiia'loir proving to all mankintl that they rekiiicr the riches of the earth. They wish only to imitate" Buddha. He did that. Then there are some who become social workers. They wear good clothes and hold their heads up and don't mention it if they need a car, but they are purposely poor. ,Yes, we have sucli a tribe, and librarians all belong to it, T IBRARIANS allbelong to this order. None of ■1— ' them are after the shekels; none of them arc trying to become rich. They are all above suspicion and so, if you can get a bunch of motion picture producers to get propaganda paid for — I suppose it has got to be paid for — I can work for next to nothing, but I must be fed — a propaganda driving on the librarians to make them see they have as much business to distribute the motion picture film as to distribute the volume, then they will do the work righteously. The money, of course, at present belongs to the motion picture producers. So now, as to what they shall distribute. I am "agin" censorship. Librarians do censor in a way; that is, they say, "I guess we don't want to buy any more of that. I have heard bad reports from several quarters, and there doesn't seem to be a great call for it. We have only so much money, let's put it into something better." That doesn't say that folks can't go to some of our most distinguished second-hand book stores and stuff their pockets with yellow covers, put their feet up, light their pipes, and recreate off of bad literature. They are perfectly free to do so, and perhaps it is beneficial after the strain of a business day. We are not censors; we only distribute things free and send printed notices when they are due. There would be no trouble. The librarians would censor in the same mild, gentle, unlegal' way that they, thank God, censor their books. You couldn't send out a Methodist film or a Catholic film unless it represented a very high degree of art — or a Unitarian film, so labeled, because you would get yourself into hot water. The major part of the churches will only rouse up and talk about their individual tenets on occasion. Most of the time they are trying to "save souls." So, you would not have any trouble witli the religious film. A reasonable number of them, if you could ever get them produced, would be distributed by the libraries. There has been a committee for several years among the librarians in regard to the business of librarians distributing pictures. It has been a moribund committee. I was a member of it and I spent a good deal of finesse when the time came to send me two or three thousand miles across the country