Be it resolved by the Southern Baptist Convention in annual session assembled in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, June 12-16, 1940:
1. That we rejoice in the freedom of the press as guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, and look upon it as one of the bulwarks of our liberties. Under no condition would we consent to an impairment of this freedom.
2. But the freedom of the press, like all other forms of freedom, is subject to misuse and abuse. Surely the press should regard itself as one of the custodians of cultural ideals and of public morals.
3. We regard the constant outflow from the presses of the nation of salacious and smutty books and periodicals as a serious menace to the ideals and morals of our people, especially of the youth of the land. We believe that all proper authority should be exercised to limit and to prevent this corrupt stream, which undoubtedly is working the downfall of many eager, growing and promising young people.
4. We pledge ourselves to aid in every way possible in a general cleanup of the newsstands, and we would particularly recognize the fact that here as elsewhere the most effective way to destroy evil is to overcome evil with good, which we must do by placing good wholesome literature and books into the hands of the masses of our people.