Page:Oregon Exchanges volume 5.pdf/41

OREGON EXCHANGES represent a mere self-seeking on the part of newspapers. Rules that are distinctly more favorable to journalists than those which now obtain in Oregon or are followed generally elsewhere can only be put through if they are part of an extensive program which recognizes in the fullest measure the sacred value of reputation and the fundamental duty of the press to safeguard it and which accordingly provides some restrictions not now in force legally or ethically. In considering this phase of the problem, cognizance should be taken of the fact that the practices, policies and ethical standards of the newspapers are undergoing marked changes. When these have crystallized in a new and higher form, then will be the propitious time for the formulation of laws that will gain for the press a freer hand.

In the meantime however there are a few Oregon statutes which, apart from the development of a large legislative program, may well receive your attention with a view to securing their amendment.

I may refer first to Section 2094, Oregon Laws, which prohibits the publication of articles that are indecent or obscene or that contain stories of bloodshed, lust or crime. In dealing with the latter topic the statute provides: "... if any person shall print, publish, advertise, sell, lend, give away, or show ... any book, paper, or other publication that purports to relate or narrate the criminal exploits of any desperate or convicted felon, or any book, paper or other publication that is principally devoted to, or contains, or is made up in part of accounts or stories of crime or lust or deeds of bloodshed . . . . such person shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not more than six months, or by a fine of not more than $500, or by both fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the Court.”

In so far as this statute condemns publications that are obscene, as it does in the part not here set out, or that are “principally devoted to. . . . stories of crime or lust or deeds of bloodshed,” it is an entirely orthodox piece of legislation and doubtless meets with the wholehearted approval of right-thinking journalists.

"But it will be noted that the Oregon statute sweeps -much beyond those borders and brings under its ban any article no matter how short and no matter if it be the only one in the issue that narrates “the criminal exploits of any desperate or convicted felon” or that is made up “in part” of accounts or stories of bloodshed, lust or crime. The practice obviously does not conform to the law, Either the law or the practice should change."

Another statute that is entitled to your attention is contained in Section 4145, of Oregon Laws, which reads as follows:

“Electioneering on Election Day Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person at any place on the day of any election to ask, solicit, or in any manner try to induce or persuade any voter on such election day to vote for or refrain from voting for any candidate, or the candidates or ticket of any political party or organization, or any measure submitted to the people, and upon conviction thereof he shall be punished by fine of not less than $5 nor more than $100 for the first offense, and for the second and each subsequent offense occurring on the same or different election days, he shall be punished by fine as aforesaid, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than five nor more than thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.”

{{c|{{sc|Law's Purpose Praiseworthy}}

If this statute is given a literal interpretation it renders illegal the publication of practically any article or statement of a political character on election day. The truth of the utterances, their moderation, and the perfect good faith of the pub