Canada Bans Seattle's 'Depraved' Tabloids
Provincial authorities in Victoria and Vancouver slam the border shut on Seattle newspapers deemed too obscene for public consumption.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A couple of vile and dirty sheets published in Seattle have been refused admission into Canada by the provincial authorities at Vancouver and Victoria. The papers in question are of the most depraved and obscene character and should very properly be shut out of the United States mails for that reason. Such a class of literature, however, would not be printed were it not to cater to a public demand for such stuff, and the people who buy and read their sheets are equally guilty with the publishers.
“The people who buy and read their sheets are equally guilty with the publishers.”
This reflects the long history of Seattle as a 'wide-open' town with a robust underground press, contrasting sharply with the more conservative regulatory environment across the border in British Columbia. Today’s concerns over 'fake news' or digital content moderation echo this 1895 debate about who decides what a community is allowed to read.
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