North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1867-05-22

DublnesS vs. BUSINESS
| Col. Il was grieved to find the follow.
ing article in your paper Of this week, and
could not let it pass without entering my
protest.
"The Ohio Legislature has passed q law
prohibiting the publication Of advertise
ments of secret drugs and nostrums pur-
porting to be for the exclusive use of wo-
men, and also the sale of the same. That
is right.'-Eachange.
The above may be all Fright" enough,
but we would respectfully inquire by what
| right the Ohio Legislature has any BUSH
| ness to tell Publisher how to conduct his
business. If women are soon to be invest
ed with the right to vote, why can they
not elect such medicines as suit their phys
ical necessities? Are men to have the on
ly fright" of choice? The Ohio Legis-
lature, in attempting to control that which
is none of their business has made an
GORGEOUS ass of itself."-7fmes.
Now COL, this looks bad and sounds
bad: it is wrong in two senses; first, it
tends to throw discredit upon the law and
lead to its violation; second it tends to en-
courage and foster the evil which this law
was intendcd-as far as law can-to pre-
vent; but l have the charity to believe
that morbid sensitiyeness with respect
to Editorial dignity another article in
your paper shows this more clearly has
led to the above remarks rather than any
confirmed looseness of morals or disre-
gard of law. You made good hilton the
radicals, it is true, in the matter Of female
suffrage, but neither fancied encroach-
mcnt on Editors or Publishers Nxbf, o.
an opportunity to infict political chastise.
ment on opponent of such monstrous
wrongs. l thought you were too old a
fisherman to be caught by such poor
bait.
Let us look at the matter. You say the
Legislature of Ohio has no right to pass
the law in question because it NEEDLES
with the business of publishers. You Ger
tainly cannot be ignorant Of the fact that
Iowa has law prohibiting the publishing,
or selling, or importing of any obscene
book or picture, and the reason is that
these acts corrupt the morals of the PEG.
pie. Many, if not all of the states have
this same law in their statute books: it is
a good law, and the people approve it. II
interferes with the business of certain
publishers, but you do not mean to main.
tain that that is sufficient reason why the
law should not be passed? There is a law
in this state, and in many others, for the
prevention of cruelty to animals. Do you
believe it is an unnecessary and unwar-
rantable interference with a mans bust.
ness to prevent his beating his horse as
much as he likes? l think this is good
law, and the people approve it. There
are other laws similar to these that take
away the liberty of certain persons from
prosecuting certain kinds of business, and
the people approve and enforce them.
think the Legislature of Ohio have passed
very wholesome law, and hope it will
be rigidly enforced, for l have no sort oil
doubt that they had the right to pass it,
and know that the evil complained of is
a growing one.
You will not contend that the publish
ing of these advertisements does not de.
bauch public morals. for you know very
well that these secret "drugs and nos
trums" are made and used for bad pur-
pose; you know that to advertise an arti-
Gle helps to sell it; you know that Print
ers' Ink helps the maker to dispose Of and
the deludcd woman to obtain the "secret
| drugs" and with them to commit crime
against nature and against statute law
We all krow that feticide and infanticide
are fearfully' common, and we know that
some Of the Doctors lend helping hand
where the 'secret drugs" prove impotent.
We all know that the decentralization al
ready begun in the woman's mind who de-
sires these medicines is increased tV their
use, and that physical as well as moral I'M
soundness is too sure to follow. You owe
it to community as conductor of public
journal of acknowledged ability and innu-
ence to advocate such a law rather than
scoif at it; and if the Legislature of Iowa
has not yet passed such law you pugh,
to be in advance of the Legislature and
J publicly propose it, and while you are get
ting ready to do this you should take those
miserable advertisements out of your own
paper and pay back the accursed price. In
the mere matter of advertising you are
neither better nor worse thar si-r -yves OF
YOUR COMP ss.I.rs, but it is rare to- find a
paper that is willing to give them specia
notice in SO conspicuous place.
Facts and statistics can be adduced to
show the wickedness, the prevalence, the
consequences of the wrong which weak
woman, in her poverty, and pride, and
fear, commits, and which newspaper pub
fishers in their avarice abet; butt is moi
necessary or profitable, even if you had
the space to spare.
do hope you will retract what you
have said, and make amends the best you
know how. LEX EFT JUS.
McGregor, May l6, 1867.
The most condensed article ever written
Il k1Dc ~