Lewis F. Korns Quotes
There is no such thing as wise regulation of a generally acknowledged evil.
Lewis F. Korns, 1856-*, Writer & Inventor (He invented the Fountain Pen), Thoughts, 1915
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Spinoza’s ideas were considered so radical and dangerous that he was the only man in history who was excommunicated by the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims.
The country had just gotten rid of Prohibition. However, there was substantial censorship of literature on the part of the Post Office, then a government agency. Abortion was then illegal in every state, and in many states it was a criminal offence to sell or distribute condoms. Homosexuality was a crime in most states and it disqualified a person from Federal employment as did a woman who had borne a child out of wedlock. Films were censored, and in some states, the only legal position for a married couple to have intercourse was the so called “missionary position”. All others were often a crime. Store owners could not open on Sunday, and Christian prayers were compulsory in many areas of society.
Suggestions of prohibition of alcohol have been made for a long time in America. It was tried for a few years in he early 20th century. Instead, alcohol is regulated in most parts of America.
He had just vetoed a bill to impose censorship on plays and dramas.
This quotation is very important because it illustrates a big difference between English Conservatives and American conservative (Republicans). In America, the Conservatives were committed to having the government regulate and control the private morality of citizens—particularly in matters of sex. English conservatives, like the Prime Minister, saw this as an improper intrusion of big government.
Almost all the encroachments on American Civil Liberties have been made by politicians who are trying to help, protect, or save the people and the nation. Taft’s principle herein has been ignored over and over from J. Edgar Hoover, Joseph McCarthy and others to the politicians trying to protect the people in the 21st century war on terror but encroaching on their rights to privacy and others.
He had just seen demonstrations of new military technology at the German War Games.
