Following close upon the suppression of the Lampoon comes the news of the pestal suppression of the "Dial" parody number of the Advocate for alleged obscenity.
The only point on which serious objection had been raised was a picture of a nude man. This, a close parody of the name of a well known artist, constituted the grounds for the action of the postal authorities.
The Advocate has been notified by the Postmaster at Cambridge that the current issue has been declared unmailable. Whether this ban will be nation-wide or not is being determined by the Sollcitor of the Post Office Department at Washington. A copy of the suppressed magazine has been forwarded to him, and he will render his decision at the end of the week, it was announced.
Police Beg Copies of Advocate
The incident started on Friday, April 17, the day the Lampoon was suppressed when two ununiformed policemen approached the Advocate offices, pleading for a copy to investigate. They had been all but baffled when, on receiving complaints, they set out to investigate the matter, only to discover the whole of the first two editions had been sold out.
The Advocate very graciously gave them a copy. Just as trouble seemed to be brewing, an editor burst in, and, sizing up the situation, hastened to explain matters. An appeal was made to the intellectual capacities of the policemen, and it was confidentially explained that the parody was offered as a literary parody for cultured people.
Culture Satisfies Agents of Law
The policemen agreed perfectly and fairly beamed, it is said.
"The only objection to the number," they averred, "is the possibility of its being left in a smoking car, or somewhere, and getting into the hands of ignorant and uncultivated people."
The following day the President of the Advocate wrote a letter to the Chief of Police, explaining the situation and enclosing a complimentary copy of the questioned magazine. The Chief agreed to drop the matter.
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