Police prosecutions of book - sellers in various parts of the country,
a recent case at the Old Bailey, and what are widelY believed to be the views and intentions of the Home Secretary are causing some alarm in publishing circles. The alarm is not, unfortunately, confined to what may for convenience be called the wrong kind of publishers. Publishers of the veil highest repute and of unimpeachable integrity fear lest a new purity drive' may be as ill-aimed and as bumbling as such drives have often proved to be in the past. Few responsible people would regret the passing of the lurid-jacketed, erotic thrillers. But neither would they want to see masterpieces gO along with them merely because an occasional word may give offence to an occasional reader with no sense of the total intention of the work. Still less do we want to see a silent, scared, and progressively more rigid censorship of manuscripts by publishers who do not quite know what they are up against. Yet there is disquieting evidence that such a censorship has already begun. If a purity drive' (the quotation marks are essential since concern for purity is so frequently expressed by the dirty-minded) is called for, the authorities must see to it that it is conducted by men with cool heads and an idea of the nature of literature, and of scientific enquiry. As little scope as possible should be left to the moral fervour of local policemen. And finally the co-operation of reputable pub' ushers—who are, after all, an immense majority—should be sought by a policy of openly disclosing official attitudes intentions.
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