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Treasures of our Memorial Library Freedom of the Press Anything your scribe has contrived to write has not been subjected to censorship, so far as he is aware. Nevertheless, I have always been subconsciously aware that I value freedom of the press as a major pillar of democracy. Hence, when I happened upon an imposing book entitled "Freedom of the Press", I gave it more than a cursory examination. It sits in the reference stacks of our Library, seldom consulted, yet -- to me, brimming with interest. It is a sort of reference encyclopedia, with highly detailed quotations and pithy comments from an immense kaleidoscope of sources. Incidentally, it bears a subtitle: "An Annotated Bibliography". This is a large book, about 10" x 12", and about l£ inches thick. It's author is Ralph E. McCoy. I doubt if he wrote the notes on the flaps of the book's dust-jacket, but they are stuffed with information. I have taken the liberty of quoting rather freely from those notes. The book was published in 1968 by Southern Illinois University Press. As the jacket notes state, it "examines questions of suppression in English-speaking countries during the last four centuries. It offers about 8000 entries concerning censorship and the freedom of expression, as found in all media of communication, including books, newspapers and magazines, pamphlets, songs, radio and television, plays, etc. In many entries it deals with changes in censorship patterns accompanying differences in time, politics, geography, religions, and varying standards concerning obscenity, blasphemy, libel and other spheres of judgement. The earliest report of book-burning in England was that of William Tyndale's translation of the New Testament (1525/26). In the 17th century, William Prynne's criticism of immorality on the stage was burned by the hangman, but when Prynne went on to criticize Queen Elizabeth, he was jailed and pilloried, and was "shorn of his ears". In 1690, the first American newspaper was suppressed after its first printing. (Query: How many months might that have taken today?) The proponents of censorship have, over the centuries, attempted to control the contents of many libraries, the records of sensational trials, many "free-thinker" societies, birth-control advocates, and so on. On one occasion, a publisher was murdered by a pro-slavery mob when he tried to protect his press. The subject index of this book leads to fascinating details concerning the banning of many specific books, such as "Fanny Hill", "Lady Chatterley's Lover", Darwin's "Origin of the Species", and the treatises of Galileo. The following three brief quotations from this book will give a hint of its vast range: A- "U120. Protection of Postal Patrons from Morally Offensive Mail Matter". Washington, D.C. Government Printing Office, 1964. B- SHAW, Geo. Bernard. The author's Apology from "Mrs. Warren's Profession" With introduction by John Corbin on "The Tyranny of Police & Press", 1905A C- Seymour, Charles. "How free can Speech be in Time of War?" New York Times Magazine 1942. Our Library's reference for this book is: "R 323.445 X M12f" Ted Hill