CONDEMNATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

The recent banning of "The Children's Hour" from Boston theatres by an arbitrary triumvirate known as the Censorship Board has at last produced a solid opposition to the autocratic method of deciding what the Hub citizenry shall or shall not see on the stage. Yesterday the Massachusetts Theatre Alliance sponsored a bill before the Committee on Mercantile Affairs to climinate the "at their pleasure" clause from the powers granted to the Board in the censorship act of 1915.

Under the law, three persons--the mayor, police commissioner, and chief justice of the Municipal Court--are the ultimate authority on the morality and value of all Boston plays. Representative Christian A. Herter protested that their prerogative was "unfair". "They can ban a play and no reason need be given," he argued. Certainly Mayor Mansfield could have given no reasons for his disapproval of "The Children's Hour", because he had neither seen nor read the play. If "Within the Gates" is morally degrading, what virtues suffice to justify the sort of entertainment carried on by The Old Howard or Park Burlesque? This is but one evidence of the irony of entrusting things intellectual to men whose only experience is in things political. David C. Adkins, chairman of the Alliance, suggested that "the art department head might be in a better position to have a more equable understanding of the theatre and its problems than the Chief Justice of the Municipal Court."

Representing the actor's point of view, Brandon Tynan soundly asserted that the theatre "was not essentially to blame for the life it portrays." Since the drama "expresses the life of the nation .... it is ineffectual to throw stones at the mirror." He justly called Boston's censorship system "condemnation without representation", for, at present theatres may have their licenses revoked as well as their plays banned without even the pretense of a hearing. It is remarkable that such undemocratic treatment should have continued almost undisputed for twenty-one years.

Now that the issue has been put squarely before a committee of the State Legislature, the theatres and the theatre-going public have the right to expect a much improved arrangement. The Censorship Board should include competent authorities and exclude mere political officers. Above all, the theatres are entitled to a fair presentation of their views and a chance to protect themselves.