May 3, 1923
In one of the most famous quotations in the long battle against censorship, New York State legislator — and future mayor of New York City — Jimmy Walker said, “No woman was ever ruined by a book.” Walker’s statement was in the context of a proposed amendment to the New York State obscenity statute. The Cotillo bill, which was labeled the “Clean Books Bill,” would make it possible to obtain a conviction based on any part of a book and suppress “filthy” and “disgusting” books.
