Page:The library a magazine of bibliography and library literature, Volume 6.djvu/141

Blacking Out of Sporting News. 129 argument. No librarian, and, I believe, no library committee, has ever allowed political convictions to interfere in the selection of either books or newspapers in public libraries, and I do not think it is to these institutions or their managers that we must look for manifestations of that spirit of unfairness which un- happily prevails in many quarters at the present time. We have been told that we have no right to eliminate the betting or other similar information from newspapers, but I ask you, suppose this betting and racing news, and the highly in- tellectual letters of " Vigilant," and " Nunquam Dormio," and others of that school of essayists were printed on separate supple- mentary sheets, what would you do with them ? I apprehend not a few of them would find their way speedily to the waste- paper basket ; and if we have a right to deal with this infor- mation in this manner when printed as special supplements, surely we may deal with it as summarily when it occupies so large an amount of that space which correspondents, when writing to the papers declare to be so valuable. With the charge of attempting to make men righteous by acts of public coercion I do not propose to deal, inasmuch as I disclaim, so far as Aston is concerned, any such intention. We do not seek to interfere either on behalf of men's morals or their pockets ; we are not the agents of any anti-gambling society ; we simply seek by a method, which I do not profess to be proud of, but which I regard as a necessary evil, to secure the comfort and quiet of a large body of readers in our newsrooms. R. K. DENT.