s under the ban, not in one or two special cities, but
throughout the country. It is not a copy of an official list, as, to
the best of our knowledge, none such is sent out; it is merely a draft
prepared by Mr. John F. Pribyl, then with the Selig Company, after he
had had a conversation on the subject with the Secretary of the
National Board, Mr. Walter Story, and courteously transmitted by Mr.
Pribyl to the authors of this volume.

DISAPPROVED BY THE NATIONAL BOARD OF CENSORSHIP

_The Unwritten Law:_ The Board does not recognize the so-called
unwritten law as a justification for the killing of any being.

_Crime:_ 1. When crime is the obvious purpose of the picture--that is,
when the whole story hinges on the perpetrated crime.

2. When the crime is repulsive and shocks the spectator.

3. The shooting in "cold blood" of any being.

4. Any crime that portrays a unique method of execution.

_Suicide:_ The Board will not pass a picture in which there is a
suicide or any suggestion of a suicide, with incidents leading
thereto. The purpose of the Board is to prevent all suggestion of
self-destruction to those who are morbidly inclined.

_Burglary:_ There is no objection to a burglary scene in a picture so
long as there is no actual demonstration of the act of burglarizing;
for instance, the burglar may be shown entering through an open
window, but must not be shown in the act of "jimmying" the window. He
may be shown with his back to the audience, opening a safe and
extracting therefrom money or papers, but he must not be shown opening
the safe by any means known to the art of burglars.

_Vulgarity:_ All vulgarity and suggestion must be avoided. For
instance, flirtations with women who are unmistakably of easy virtue.
Letters making appointments with such women are objectionable, as is
any "rough-house" conduct with them.

_Mischief:_ The Board objects to pictures that will suggest to the
mind of youth acts of mischief, such as mutilation or destruction of
property for the purpose of perpetrating a joke on someone, especially
playing jokes on invalids or cripples.

_Lynching:_ Lynching is only permissible when the incident happens in
the days when Lynch Law was the only law, i.e., in the early days of
the Far West when the Vigilantes were the only effective means of
enforcing order.

_2. Other Objectionable Subjects_

The foregoing, of course, is not a complete list, as points are coming
up continually.