MASSACHUSETTS FEDERATION OP PLANNING
boards
thirw-C,” 1L?STpArKS.".’^o£Zly;°‘°-	J
lolling stock, stations, subways or structurp-Tnf10*1068 on or in the earners, except advertising signs or other advertiUR^d *7 common bridges or viaducts, or abutments thereof	S1“g	aev,«» on
Section 33—Whoever violates any rule reeulatinn j-by-law established or adopted under seotinn	?rdlnance or
punished by a fine of not more than one hundred^***'* ever after conviction of such violation unlawfully maintain^,,W^°' biH board, sign or other device for twenty days ^hereaftP?«h»Shi. punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars.	8
III—Limitations of the Law:
Under this head some peculiarities of section 30 should be noticed. First, its prohibition applies specifically only to advertisements of “any business, article, substance or any other thing,” and therefore not to advertisements of persons—as, for example, of a political candidate or party; but this omission makes no difference, as the powers of regulation granted to the highway division and to cities and towns in section 29 are not so limited, and apply to all classes of advertisements. Second, the exemption granted by section 30 to devices that advertise only the person or business occupying the premises, or advertise only the property itself as for sale or to let, applies specifically to that section only. Therefore, it does not exempt such devices from any regulations established under section 29 or from the penalties prescribed in section 33. It follows that section 30 migh be omitted without changing the effect of the law.
The power of the highway division and of cities ana towns to establish regulations under section29areneve-theless limited in scope by section 32, which exempt^ certain property of railroads, and by |ec^10“	\ ^ions.
prescribes the penalties for violation o	& be jm-
It is probable that additional penalties	L ' con.
posed by rules of the division or by municipalities,
sistently with this section.	certain	cases
The penalties are further limited in	fifty
by chapter 81, of which section 9 fixes a lira
MASSACHUSETTS
federation of planning boards
public way after five days’ notice to remove the same has
b°0ndtherwise this law puts no limit upon the authority of the state highway division to make regulations lor outdoor advertising, or upon the power of cities and towns to make further regulations consistent therewith. The fundamental sanction for the law, however, is m the police power of the state, as limited by its constitution and by the constitution of the United States, and it is these documents, as interpreted by the courts, that will finally determine the limits to which restriction of outdoor advertising on private property can be carried.
The power of the state and of municipalities to make regulations to protect the public health, safety and morals has long been established; but, previous to 1918, certain Massachusetts court decisions had held that the right of an owner to do as he pleased with his own property could not be restricted on purely esthetic grounds. In that year the Constitutional Convention submitted to the people of Massachusetts an amendment which now forms Article 72 of the revised state constitution, as follows:
“Advertising on public ways, in public places and on private property within public view may be regulated and restricted by law ” The adoption of this artfcle fol-
m ssim ofXTr atl?,°f a SpGcial legislative commission, of tinee eminent lawyers, including the attov
Bey general, which had reported that such an amend'
pop„l,r vote establishedZ ZnL&7*TS“tvb5' power to regulate unsmhtlv nrnr" I - eney ot.tlle police erty under the auSty „f erW,1?”8 on Private prop-