THE HOLY CRAIL

The attempt of Representative Crail to have Edgar Lee Masters' "Lincoln the Man" barred from the mails may be interpreted in two ways. Either it is a sincere but misguided attempt to safeguard public morality and defend the memory of a great man, or it is a "grandstand play" for public opinion. The fact that Representative Crail has not read the book in question makes the latter view seem rather more probable.

In case he is sincere in his proposal, it is unfortunate that he should have chosen such an efficient way of advertising Mr. Masters' book. If his law is passed, the publishers will have even more cause for rejoicing. The surest way to invest the volume with the entrancing glamor of "truth crushed to earth" is to question its moral worth.

Even if it were justified in this case, such an act would create a most dangerous precedent. Under its logical implications, a writer who ventured to disagree with the majority of Congress in the interpretation of any historical figure would find himself unable to send his heretical works through the mails under penalty of a fine of $5000, or five years imprisonment, or both. This is of course an infringement on free speech, and affects the serious historian as much as the sensational debunker. One shudders to think of the day when history will be under the direct control of the politicians, and no unorthodox writer will be safe from the patriotic spleen of some office-seeker without an issue.