494
The Green Bag
Owen Wister's novel: " 'But I expect I've got my own notions about spelling,' said Scipio. '1 retain a few private ideas that way my self,' remarked the Virginian." P. P. S.—For corrobation and further de
tails see Babylonia and Assyria, by Sayce; The Tell-el-Amarna Period, by Neibuhr; Life In Ancient Egypt and Assyria, by G. Maspero; and the last American Edition of Hammu rabi's Laws.
THE RIGHT OF PRIVACY. BY W. ARCHIBALD McCLEAN. EVERY tendency evolves its antithesis. An irritant creates the need of a counter-irritant. The swinging of the pendu lum in any one direction develops the return ing swing. Nations and men seem to be in an endless struggle to acquire balance and poise. The present age, among other things, may be said to be marked with a characteristic of publicity. The press of the country typi fies this spirit of publicity. It seems to have a public sanction as part of the freedom of the people. The white light of publicity is rightfully looked upon as a safeguard. It is a protest against star chamber methods. Yet this very condition holds within itself the germs of a right of privacy, the returning swing for balance. This right of privacy has been slowly de veloping within the last decade. It is unmentioned in the legal tomes of other days. It is based upon no ancient or modern stat ute. It is a new right Baron Commonsense is demanding of King Publicity. This king will yield as did his prototypes of old. The decisions of courts of last resort denning this right as yet can be numbered on the fingers of one hand. This antithesis of pub licity becomes a hope making for national and individual poise. This right is in no sense one of property. The reproduction of a private manuscript, or painting, or the publication of private let ters, or of oral lectures delivered by a teacher
to his class, or the revelations of the contents of a merchant's books by a clerk, or the pub lication of a catalogue of private etchings, have all been prohibited on the ground that the manuscript, paintings, letters, lectures, merchant's books and etchings are a species of property belonging to the particular in dividual, which law and courts will protect. The dream of an artist's brush is the prop erty of its creator and if never donated to the public will be as sacredly defended as lands and other possessions. The right of privacy is not, however, one o» property. It is a personal right, pure and simple. It has been called the right to be let alone, to be secure from public molesta tion. It is a condition plainly labelled "hands off." It is something which is each individ ual's very own. As much of it may be given the public as one chooses. There is a division line in each one's life, over which the public may not step and demand as of right that which is on the other side. The law says there is such a thing as the privacy of one's life which legally belongs to the individual and which may not be invaded without the permission of its owner. To understand what this right of privacy now is and what it may become in the future, the authorities defining it must be examined. While they are clear upon the fact that there is such a right, they are timid at points in defining its limitations. They confine them selves rather closelv to the issue and do not
